Why Phillies pulled Andrew Painter after 69 pitches in quality start vs. Reds – Phillies Nation
Andrew Painter had a quality start on Monday. (Logan Gehman/Phillies Nation)
PHILADELPHIA — Phillies rookie Andrew Painter retired JJ Bleday on an 88 mph slider, inducing a hard-hit grounder to Alec Bohm at first base to end the top of the sixth inning. For the first time in his young major-league career, the right-hander completed six full frames. And with Painter only at 69 pitches on the night, it seemed like he might have had more left in the tank.
But after Bohm hit a go-ahead home run to put the Phillies ahead in the next half-inning, interim manager Don Mattingly changed course. He wanted to get to his bullpen to protect the one-run lead.
“Really good,” Mattingly said of Painter’s outing. “And actually, he would have went back out if we didn’t jump the lead there.”
Painter allowed two runs on three hits, turning in the first quality start of his career. He was not perfect. He struck out three batters and recorded only three whiffs on 33 swings by Reds batters (with no whiffs on 13 swings against his fastball). But he was effective and rebounded after giving up an RBI single and a sacrifice fly in the second.
The Phillies pulled Painter in favor of Brad Keller to begin the seventh, and it did not go to plan, as the reliever allowed a game-tying home run to Sal Stewart. José Alvarado then gave up a go-ahead double to Spencer Steer in the eighth. But Philadelphia bounced back again with Bryson Stott hitting a game-winning, two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth to secure a 5-4 victory in a back-and-forth series opener against Cincinnati on Monday night at Citizens Bank Park.
Keller had two scoreless appearances in Boston during the team’s recent road trip, but he coughed up the narrow lead back at home. He has a 4.12 ERA on the season and a 5.91 ERA at Citizens Bank Park. Alvarado had a runner on second base with two outs when he surrendered the extra-base hit to Steer, who has a 1.062 OPS against left-handed pitchers this year. Right-hander Orion Kerkering entered two batters later to finish the inning.
“We felt good about Alvy there,” Mattingly said of the matchup against Steer. “Looking back, once it happens, you’re like, ‘I could have went there.’”
But the Phillies (25-23) battled and ultimately won a game in which Painter pitched for the first time since April 6.
“It feels great,” Painter said. “Every time I go out there and toe the rubber, my job is to go help the team win. So I know it’s been a rough last couple, but just glad I could go out there and do that.”
Mattingly said before Monday’s game that he’d love to see Painter go deeper into his outings, but also that the team wants to “protect and take care of him” during his first year in the majors. His start against the Reds was a combination of those two ideas. Painter did throw more innings than he had so far this season, but he was also removed with a relatively modest pitch count. Last Wednesday, he allowed one run across five innings and was taken out after 62 pitches. He struggled early, and the Phillies haven’t pushed him too far of late.
Painter, who now has a 5.77 ERA in nine outings, understands how the club is handling him.
“I trust every move that’s being made out here,” Painter said. “I just want to help the team win, and whatever that is, it’s what I’m willing to do.”
Eliminating the DH
With the game still tied, 4-4, in the bottom of the eighth, Bohm hit a leadoff single off Graham Aschcraft. Mattingly subsequently inserted Garrett Stubbs as a pinch runner. Stubbs then broke up a potential double play at second base before Stott later hit the go-ahead homer.
The move left the Phillies without a remaining reserve first baseman to put in for Bohm. With Kyle Schwarber out of the lineup and unavailable due to an illness, Bryce Harper was the designated hitter and Bohm started at first. Otto Kemp started in left field, but he had already been taken out of the game.
After the Phillies took the lead, Mattingly moved Harper to first base in the ninth behind closer Jhoan Duran, eliminating the DH from the lineup. If they had not been leading, Mattingly would not have eliminated the DH, leaving Stubbs to play first base for the first time since 2018 when he did so for Triple-A Fresno in his lone professional appearance at the position.
“Once we get the lead, you want to defend your guys and count on Duran doing his thing,” Mattingly said. “So (Stubbs) would have played first. It’s that kind of game, right? When you get that kind of game, you got to pinch run for Bohmer there. Ball in the gap, you got to try to get it tied. Obviously, we were able to get the lead, so it was even better. But he would have been at first.”
