It’s been a bit of a “Stranger Things” beginning to the season for the starting rotation of the Philadelphia Phillies.
While the pitching overall has been fairly effective, with the team entering Tuesday’s game ranked ninth in MLB in runs allowed at 3.94 per game, it’s who has led the staff so far that feels like something out of the Upside Down.
The top three pitchers helping lead Philadelphia to a 9-7 start have been Jesus Luzardo (2-0, 1.50 ERA), Taijuan Walker (1-1, 2.30) and Cristopher Sanchez (1-0, 3.12). Meanwhile, the 1-2 combo of Aaron Nola (0-3, 5.51) and Zack Wheeler (1-1, 4.07) has not pitched to its usual level of dominance.
Aaron Nola Has ‘Grinded’ Through Early Starts
In his most recent start at St. Louis on Friday, Nola gave up just two runs, but he had to come out after throwing 93 pitches in only 5.0 innings, with five hits and four walks allowed, as the Cardinals would go on to win 2-0.
“He grinded,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said.
“He had a 19-pitch inning, he had an 18-pitch inning, a 30- or 31-pitch inning, the last one. That’s kind of uncharacteristic for him.”
The comments sounded similar to what Nola had to say after his prior start. On April 5, Nola threw 97 pitches in 6.0 innings, giving up three runs on seven hits, including a pair of home runs, and a walk in a 3-1 loss to the Dodgers.
“Grinded through it,” Nola said after the game.
“Ball was up today, I struggled to get the fastball down in the zone, especially my 4-seam, and the curveball was not that sharp today. They took some good pitches, and I made some good pitches when I needed to with guys on base. But other than that, I was just kind of off today.”
Thomson also noted that Nola’s control has been just kind of off, with a 1.41 WHIP through 16.1 innings, but the manager is confident of Nola getting closer to his career average of 1.14 as spring turns into summer.
“He doesn’t have his good fastball yet, with the good finish to it,” Thomson said. “I’ve seen that before early in the year, but he’ll get that as it warms up, I believe.”
Zack Wheeler Concerned About Issues in Recent Games
As for Wheeler, his start on Sunday at St. Louis did not live up to his expectations, as he gave up four runs on seven hits and a walk with just three strikeouts in 6.0 innings of the 7-0 loss. This after allowing five runs on eight hits and three walks in 5.1 innings of the 7-5 loss to Atlanta on April 8.
“Command just wasn’t really there today and hasn’t been for a couple of games now,” Wheeler said after the Sunday outing. “Just gotta dig into that a little bit and figure out what’s going. I don’t think it’s anything crazy but velo’s down and the command’s off a little bit so got to fix that.”
Ranger Suarez, Andrew Painter Make Progress in Rehab Starts
While the panic meter on the team’s top two starters remains low for the moment, the Phillies do have positive news on a pair of rehabbing pitchers.
Ranger Suarez, who opened the regular season on the injured list with back stiffness, is expected to make his second rehab start tonight for Low-A Clearwater. After striking out four with just one hit and no walks in 3.0 innings for Clearwater on April 10, Suarez is scheduled to throw four innings and/or 55 pitches, and he will likely make at least one more start in the minors, as the team would like him to get near the 100-pitch range before rejoining the Phillies.
Andrew Painter is also making progress in his ongoing return from Tommy John surgery. The Phillies’ top prospect, who saw some brief action several months ago in the Arizona Fall League, pitched Friday in his first minor league game in over 30 months, reaching 100 mph three times among his 37 pitches over 1.2 innings for Clearwater. Painter is scheduled to last for three innings and/or 50 pitches for Clearwater on Friday night, with Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski targeting “July-ish” for Painter’s debut with the major league club.
It’s ‘Bizarro World’ for Phillies Pitchers Having Issues With Command