PHILADELPHIA — Aaron Nola has been here long enough to see how bullpens crumble. It’s something of an annual tradition at Citizens Bank Park. So, when the Phillies lost their best reliever, José Alvarado, to a sore elbow two weeks ago, it might have triggered alarms.
The relievers have posted a 1.62 ERA since then with the second-lowest walk rate in the majors.
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“The bullpen’s just better,” Nola said Sunday after a 2-1 Phillies win over the Cubs. “Better than it ever has been. It’s definitely the best bullpen of the teams I’ve been on.”
This is something the Phillies must prove in the summer and beyond, but the bullpen has passed most of the tests so far. Four relievers preserved a tight win Sunday. Craig Kimbrel surrendered a homer in the ninth that raised the stress level, but he escaped with his 399th career save. Seranthony Domínguez, Matt Strahm, Connor Brogdon and Gregory Soto combined for 2 2/3 hitless innings.
It wasn’t smooth at the start of the season when the Phillies failed to get games to their best relievers on a consistent basis. Roles weren’t settled. Now, the relievers have a decent idea of which batters they might face in a given series and when they will enter games.
“The stuff is there and I think the strike-throwing ability has been really good,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “There’s not too many walks put on the opponent. I think they’ve done really well. We’ve put them in their pockets and they’ve performed.”
The situation is somewhat complicated by the Phillies running a bullpen game every fifth day. But there are enough multi-inning relievers the Phillies can use earlier in games or when behind. And even those lower-leverage relievers have decent stuff.
“We traded for guys and picked up guys that were really good on other teams,” Nola said. “They had a good history and had been around for a little while. I think that’s the biggest thing. Experience. And it also helps when guys are throwing 100 (mph) too.”
That does help. Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has always targeted velocity when shaping a bullpen. The Phillies, this season, have the second-highest fastball velocity among all bullpens. There are still mistakes with those high-powered fastballs but, in general, more velocity means more margin for error with certain mistakes.
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Alvarado is a big piece of that. He struck out 24 and walked none while allowing one run in 14 1/3 innings before getting hurt. He has resumed throwing and played some light catch before Sunday’s game. The Phillies are probably looking at another two weeks at least without Alvarado in the mix. They want to be careful with an important arm.
And, when the bullpen pitches well without him, there isn’t much pressure to rush it.
Walker’s tweak
Taijuan Walker threw first-pitch strikes to 16 of the 19 batters he faced Sunday. He walked three Cubs, but it was refreshing because he had diagnosed the problem with the help of the Phillies’ pitching coaches and applied an immediate fix.
There will be challenges ahead for Walker and every other Phillies starter, but the goal is to minimize the bad stretches. It’s one thing to know there is an issue — throwing strikes — but it’s another to identify the cause and solve it in a few days’ time.
Walker said he was too hunched over when he pitched last week in San Francisco. His pitches were moving to his arm side — away from lefties and in to righties — and he could not command them. He was more upright in his motion Sunday. Walker said that made a difference.
Teams know what’s coming. Walker threw splitters on 41 percent of his pitches Sunday.
He now has a 5.79 ERA.
“I mean, I knew what it was,” Walker said. “I was just off just a little bit. But I knew what the fix was and I was able to fix it.”
The bench
Josh Harrison started Sunday for only the 13th time in 46 games. He grounded out twice — once with two runners in scoring position — and was pinch hit for in the seventh inning. He’s hitting .192/.246/.269 in 57 plate appearances.
“It’s just more of the fact that he hasn’t played a lot,” Thomson said. “He hasn’t had a lot of consistent reps. And with our schedule, we’ve had all these off days. A lot of right-handed pitching. It’s been tough to get him in because you want to keep the other guys going as well.”
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When the Phillies signed Harrison for $2 million, they envisioned him playing a bit more. But he was never going to play as much as he had over the previous two seasons in which he averaged 492 plate appearances. Thomson has stuck to a strict rotation among his hitters. Only one spot is a platoon between Edmundo Sosa and Kody Clemens. The bench, right now, acts as nothing more than insurance. The Phillies do not pinch hit often. They don’t have developing players on the bench whom they feel need at-bats.
It’ll suffice, for now.
This is a unit that likely will change as the season progresses. Darick Hall, sidelined since the first week of the season with a torn ligament in his thumb, has increased his activities as he nears a minor-league rehab assignment. He cannot be activated before June 5. He could be the first baseman and put Alec Bohm back at third until Bryce Harper is able to play first base. Then, Hall could be a lefty power bat on the bench.
The Phillies demoted Jake Cave, who did not produce in the majors but has crushed Triple-A pitching with a .426/.487/.765 slash line in 76 plate appearances. He’s good depth. Símon Muzziotti has thrived in 169 plate appearances with a .365/.405/.487 line at Triple A. Cristian Pache is progressing in his rehab from meniscus surgery and could return later in June. Scott Kingery is hitting .252/.333/.406 in 165 plate appearances while playing all over the field with Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
Sosa and Clemens, for now, have contributed enough. The Phillies have to feel good about the other potential bench combinations as their needs evolve.
Iron catcher
J.T. Realmuto started another day game Sunday after a night game to no one’s surprise. Realmuto has always preferred to push the limits of how often a catcher can play. He’s caught 274 2/3 more innings (almost 31 full games) than any other catcher since the start of the 2022 season. He’s second in innings caught this season behind only Washington’s Keibert Ruiz.
There is a thought that quicker innings and quicker games with the pitch clock could help preserve catchers more than anyone else. The less squatting, the better.
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Realmuto has noticed an effect.
“It’s interesting because he has mentioned that he feels a lot fresher since the pitch clock has been put in,” Thomson said. “So, yeah, maybe there’s something to that. And now everybody’s a one-knee guy, so that takes a lot of pressure off your legs. It eliminates a lot of fatigue, just being able to go down to your knee all the time.”
Realmuto has started 39 of the Phillies’ 46 games. It’s not as if Thomson wasn’t going to lean on Realmuto regardless of the clock situation. But if it results in a few extra starts for Realmuto with maintained offensive production, it’s a win.
The vibes
The Phillies announced another sold-out crowd Sunday, bringing the team’s average attendance this season to 39,901. It is the second-best figure in baseball. Only the Dodgers have had larger average crowds. The Phillies expected a bump this season after winning a National League pennant, but that rise has exceeded expectations. They have the largest year-to-year increase in average attendance across the sport. It’s almost 13,000 more fans per game so far in 2023.
Is it felt in the dugout?
“No doubt,” Thomson said. “I mean, it’s great to play here. Even when they’re booing, it’s great to play here. We get a lot of fan support. And they let you know. They let you know when you’re playing poorly and they let you know when you’re playing well. And that’s OK.”
(Top photo of Craig Kimbrel: Eric Hartline / USA Today)
