On Wednesday night, closer Jhoan Duran was called on for a third straight game to protect a 7-4 lead against the Blue Jays. He gave up two hits in the 9th inning but danced between the raindrops and secured his 17th save in 18 chances and lowered his ERA to 1.99.
Duran has given up runs in just four of his 24 appearances. The only time this year he’s allowed more than one earned run was on Tuesday night in Toronto, when he gave up two runs for his first blown save of the season. Only three relievers have more saves than Duran, his 38.6% strikeout rate is 3rd-best in MLB, and his 1.2 fWAR is 6th.
He is unquestionably one of the best relievers in baseball and, outside of Cristopher Sanchez or Kyle Schwarber, may be the player the Phillies can least afford to lose to injury.
Which brings us to the ultimate question. Is Don Mattingly using Duran too much?
Perhaps we’re used to how Rob Thomson did things. Ever since taking over in June of 2022, Thomson was adamant against using relief pitchers three days in a row. He never did it with Jose Alvarado, never did it with Carlos Estevez, never did it with Jeff Hoffman and never did it with Duran.
Duran pitched in each of the three games in Toronto. He earned a save in the first and third and blew one in the second. He’s also pitched in four of the last five games. Mattingly has been more aggressive with Duran since taking over in May.
It’s still early June. The season runs through September. There will be a wild card push to be made as the summer progresses, and Thomson’s rationale for taking it easy with his relievers was to keep them fresh for the entire season.
Duran is also a max effort pitcher. His four-seam fastball averages 100.4 mph. His “slinker” sits at 97.7. The splitter, slider and curve are all around 88-89 mph. This is not someone who usually leaves bullets in the chamber. However, perhaps he did so on Wednesday night.
In closing out the Phillies’ 7-4 win, Duran threw 10 pitches to four hitters. None of them were four-seam fastballs. Was that by design? If so, was it to give Blue Jays hitters something different to look at, an adjustment based on the evening before? Or was Duran, pitching for the third night in a row, saving a bullet or two?
Duran can get away with it, given how electric his arsenal is, but was it wise to use him for a third night in a row to protect a three-run lead on June 10 against the Blue Jays? Was it worth the potential risk?
That risk is not only injury, although that’s certainly a big one. But overuse now could lead to fatigue and ineffectiveness later.
Of course, Duran is a veteran. He knows how to pitch. He knows his body. The Phillies are a team built around superstars, and Duran is one of them. The Phils traded good prospects to bring him to Philadelphia, so it’s reasonable to ask him to do something relief pitchers used to do regularly.
Asking Duran to pitch on a third straight day isn’t a mistake, especially if Duran is made aware ahead of time and believes it to be a good idea.
It also sends a message to the rest of the roster that I’m not sure existed under Thomson.
There are no throwaway games.
Each win means something. Each victory is worth securing.
Mattingly is sending a signal to the rest of his roster that, if there’s a chance to win a one-run game in the 9th inning, Duran is getting ball, barring extenuating circumstances.
Now, should Duran be pitching back-to-back-to-back regularly? Probably not. Mattingly will have to balance rest vs. results.
