The Philadelphia Phillies have named a starter for their series opener against the Washington Nationals. They will deploy left-hander Tim Mayza as an opener ahead of Alan Rangel. Rangel will be the bulk arm, serving as the de facto starter.
This will be the third time the Phillies have used an opener this season. The previous two times came ahead of Andrew Painter, with the club losing both games.
The Phillies are tied for the top Wild Card spot entering this series against the Nationals. But this might be the most uncertain game for them in the entire series. They are 2.5 games ahead of Washington in the standings.
First pitch at Nationals Park will be at 6:45 pm ET.
Alan Rangel Takes Andrew Painter’s Rotation Spot For Now
The Phillies shuffled their rotation to split up the fifth starter from Aaron Nola. When interim manager Don Mattingly listed the fifth starter as TBA on June 20, Rangel became the obvious candidate. The club’s decision to cut ties with Bryse Wilson following the New York Mets series further cemented that idea.
The organization has a lot of work to do to replace Painter, who was recently optioned to Triple-A. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski hinted at a lengthy process to address the right-hander issues.
While they try to fix the rookie’s delivery and fastball execution, they’re looking for more reliable rotation help. With the Phillies getting another great year out of Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper, the rotation takes center stage at the deadline.
Phillies Pitching Plan vs. Nationals
GettyThe Phillies will use LHP Tim Mayza as an opener against the Nationals.
The Phillies’ decision to deploy an opener is an attempt to provide a soft landing for Rangel. The Nationals’ best hitters are left-handed, led by All-Stars James Wood and C.J. Abrams.
Mayza has limited left-handed hitters to a .203/.254/.254 slash with a 25.4% strikeout rate on the season. He will likely face Wood and Abrams the first time through the lineup. The two lefties are batting first and fourth in the Nationals’ posted lineup.
The question for Mattingly will be how deep he wants his left-hander to go. He’s guaranteed to face at least four hitters, two of whom are right-handers. It’s possible he could go as many as six hitters if Mayza retires all of them.
The Phillies will probably want to insert Rangel in a clean inning situation. This will be his second stint with the club, as he pitched three innings of mop-up duty on April 22.
Rangel is fully stretched out if necessary, throwing 98 pitches with Triple-A Lehigh Valley on June 17. He enters this game on four days’ rest. If he pitches well, the Phillies should be able to hand it off to the back of their bullpen.
Ideally, the Phillies want to minimize Rangel’s exposure to Wood and Abrams. If things go their way, they could see four different pitchers in four different at-bats.
Mattingly would certainly like those four at-bats to be against Mayza, Rangel, Jose Alvarado, and Jhoan Duran. But he also needs to adjust away from their plan, if the game calls for it.
Phillies Activate LHP Kyle Backhus
GettyThe Phillies welcome back LHP Kyle Backhus from injury
With the Nationals’ lineup being very left-hand heavy, they optioned right-hander Max Lazar to Triple-A. In his place is left-hander Kyle Backhus, who’s coming back from an elbow injury.
Backhus’ unique slot plays up against left-handed hitters. He utilizes a dropdown, sidearm slot with a heavily horizontal pitch mix.
Backhus gives the Phillies a third lefty in their bullpen. That could be why they’re comfortable starting one of them as an opener. They’d still have Backhus and Alvarado for late-inning matchups against James Wood and C.J. Abrams. Depending on how the game flows, that could happen around the fifth or sixth inning.
Phillies Reveal Unusual Pitching Plan Against Nationals