For the second time this week, Trea Turner left a game early after being hit by a pitch.
The Phillies shortstop departed Thursday’s 6-4 loss to the Mets with a bruised right calf after taking a 79.2 mph sweeper off the leg from Sean Manaea in the first inning. Turner remained in the game initially as a baserunner, scoring a run, but was replaced at shortstop by Edmundo Sosa in the third inning.
Sosa switched from left field, where he had started the game. Justin Crawford entered the game in center, sliding Derek Hill to right field and Brandon Marsh to left.
“Got hit in a tough spot, right above the bottom of the calf towards the bottom, where he starts getting into the Achilles,” interim manager Don Mattingly said. “He was having trouble putting pressure, pushing off. … He said he was having trouble on defense, felt like he was a liability on defense, so he couldn’t really move. Day off [Friday], hopefully it’ll be good by the night game [Saturday]. We’ll see.”
Turner exited Monday’s game against the Marlins with a bruised right wrist after getting drilled with a fastball, and sat out on Tuesday as it was still inflamed.
In his return to the lineup Wednesday, Turner finished with three hits, and said he felt like he was “on a good track” at the plate.
Trea Turner didn’t waste any time in his return to the Phillies lineup.
The shortstop sat out Tuesday’s game with a bruised wrist after getting hit by a fastball the day prior. But once the swelling went down, he was back in the lineup on Wednesday — and was back atop the order for the first time since May 25.
Turner singled to lead off the first inning against Marlins starter Sandy Alcantara and then picked up two more hits, including a double, to finish 3-for-5 in the 12-4 loss. It marked his first game with at least three hits since May 9.
For the past three weeks, Kyle Schwarber has been leading off for the Phillies, and interim manager Don Mattingly even used Brandon Marsh in the No. 1 spot for a one-game experiment on Tuesday. But Mattingly said he always planned for Turner to return to being his long-term leadoff hitter because of his base-stealing ability.
“He’s able to run up there,” Mattingly said. “He gets behind Schwarb, and he’s on, he’s not able to run. Always wanted him there.”
Turner’s three hits on Wednesday raised his season batting average to .233, and he also stole his 15th base of the season. There’s still work to be done for him to dig out of this slump, but he saw positive signs on Wednesday.
“I think I did a lot of good things today from my standpoint, just kind of competing, and two-strike hitting,” Turner said. “Fouled off some pitches I probably would’ve swung and missed at, and I feel like I was doing what I wanted up there. I felt like real positive individually today from just my at-bats standpoint, and felt like I’m on a good track.”
Phillies pitcher Jesús Luzardo allowed two runs in seven innings in an 8-2 victory over the Marlins on Tuesday.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
Luzardo’s splits
Jesús Luzardo describes himself as a “creature of habit.”
A lot of it is because of superstition. The glasses Luzardo wears on the mound don’t actually correct his vision, but he wears them because in the past, he didn’t pitch well without them.
The lefty is strict about his routines, so he would know better than anyone if there was an underlying change causing the discrepancy in his home and road splits.
And this year, the difference between the numbers has been stark: he has a 1.55 ERA in seven road starts, compared to a 6.60 ERA in eight starts at Citizens Bank Park. His strikeout and walk numbers are around the same, but the contact that Luzardo has given up has been much harder at home. Of the nine homers he’s allowed this season, eight were at home.
“I just really think it’s a coincidence,” Luzardo said. “It’s unfortunate, obviously. No one wants to pitch bad, especially at home, but the routine stays the same.”
Luzardo was slightly better on the road in 2025, his first season as a Phillie. He posted a 3.67 ERA in 16 away games compared to 4.16 in 16 home games. But the difference has never been this extreme.
Luzardo hopes the start he made at home Tuesday, when he held the Marlins to two runs over seven innings, could be the beginning of a new trend.
“Obviously, I know I can do it,” he said. “I felt really good. So, hopefully, just keep building on that.”
Brandon Marsh is third among National League outfielders in All-Star voting.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
Marsh on All-Star vote
MLB released its first voting update for the 2026 All-Star Game, and Brandon Marsh is on track to make it to the next phase.
Marsh, who entered Wednesday with a .327 batting average, good for third in baseball, accumulated 668,191 votes as of June 15. That places him third among National League outfielders, behind the Dodgers’ Andy Pages (800,496) and the Braves’ Ronald Acuña Jr. (693,472).
Once Phase 1 of voting concludes on June 25, the top two position players and top six outfielders in each league will advance to the second round. After Phase 2, the top position player and top three outfielders will be named starters.
If his trajectory holds, Marsh will be an All-Star for the first time in his career. He said last week that it would be “really, really cool” to be included in the group, especially at home in Philadelphia. But for now, he isn’t paying much attention to the voting.
“I really haven’t even looked at it, to be honest with you,” Marsh said. “Really, just trying to enjoy now, and just take it day by day, and see where it all falls out at the end.”
Extra bases
Aaron Nola (3-4, 5.86 ERA) is scheduled to start Thursday’s series opener against the Mets’ Sean Manaea (1-2, 4.78 ERA). It marks the Phillies’ first meeting against the Mets this season. … Shane Victorino and Larry Bowa will serve as managers for the All-Star Futures Game on July 12 at Citizens Bank Park, Major League Baseball announced Wednesday.
Shane Victorino and Larry Bowa will serve as managers for the 2026 All-Star Futures Game, Major League Baseball announced Wednesday.
The Futures Game showcases baseball’s top minor league prospects in a seven-inning game. Victorino will be at the helm of the National League team, while Bowa will manage the American League prospects. The Futures Game will be held on July 12 at Citizens Bank Park as part of the All-Star week festivities.
Victorino and Bowa won the World Series with the Phillies during their playing careers. Victorino was a key member of the championship core in 2008, while Bowa was the starting shortstop when the franchise captured its first title in 1980. Following his 16-season playing career, Bowa transitioned to coaching and won Manager of the Year in 2001 with the Phillies. He serves as a senior advisor to baseball operations with the team.
Last year, the Phillies were represented by catcher Eduardo Tait, who was later dealt to the Twins as part of a trade package for Jhoan Duran. Andrew Painter was also included on the National League roster but did not make an appearance.
Brandon Marsh took to his new spot in the Phillies batting order right away.
The left fielder, whose .324 average is fourth-highest in baseball, has been hitting well no matter where he’s been in the lineup. But Tuesday was his first time starting a game in the leadoff spot since 2022, when he was with the Angels.
First, Marsh worked a four-pitch walk from Marlins starter and South Jersey native Tyler Phillips. Then, in classic leadoff hitter fashion, he stole second base, so that he was in scoring position when Alec Bohm dropped a ball just inside the right field line for a single.
“It was fun,” Marsh said. “I didn’t really think too much of it. Guys told me just to take the same at-bats, same approach. I didn’t really get one to hit in the first at-bat, so that made it easy for me.”
It sparked a three-run first inning for the Phillies that put them ahead for the 8-2 win. Jesús Luzardo posted a quality start to help secure the series victory over Miami.
Marsh’s move to the top of the order is a temporary one, as interim manager Don Mattingly tried something different with his top three spots since Trea Turner was out of the lineup with a bruised wrist. Mattingly said postgame he will go back to his usual order with Turner set to return Wednesday, because he wants to have consistency with his lineup.
“Brandon’s been good everywhere we put him, so we’ll get back to what we do,” Mattingly said.
Marsh kept it going in the second inning, when he and Bohm both hit two-run homers. The Phillies continued to run up the score against Phillips, whose ERA ballooned from 1.86 to 3.10 when his night ended after four innings.
Brandon Marsh is hitting .324 this season.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
“He’s a guy that usually works the ball down,” Mattingly said of Phillips. “If you chase him down, you’re going to be in trouble. We pushed him up. I felt like we pushed him up enough in the zone to get pitches we could do something with.”
Kyle Schwarber, who was batting second and started at first base for the first time since 2021, bashed a solo home run in the fourth for good measure. On defense, Schwarber wasn’t tested much as he didn’t have a ball hit in his direction.
In Monday’s series opener, the bottom half of the Phillies lineup came through in the 7-0 win. On Tuesday, it was largely the top half. Harper drew a key walk and then scored in the first inning on a two-RBI triple from Bryson Stott, who hit fifth.
“It’s just a testament to the guys we have in this clubhouse, and the way we feed off each other,” Marsh said. “It’s not going to be everyone’s night every night. Other guys are gonna have to step up when others don’t.”
Luzardo, meanwhile, shut down Miami for six innings. After a leadoff walk to start the game, Luzardo retired 12 consecutive Marlins until Javier Sanoja singled in the fifth.
“After the first, I feel like I really found a groove, getting back in the zone,” Luzardo said. “Kind of lost it at the beginning, and then made some adjustments, and felt way better.”
After a leadoff walk to start the game, Jesús Luzardo retired 12 consecutive Marlins until Javier Sanoja singled in the fifth. Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
He allowed another single and a walk to load the bases, but wriggled out of the jam by getting Xavier Edwards to ground out. Luzardo also escaped trouble in the sixth after giving up a leadoff double, retiring three straight. Catcher J.T. Realmuto helped him out by successfully challenging a ball call that turned into a strikeout.
Luzardo got ahead in the count often, throwing first-pitch strikes 21 out of 28 times.
“When our offense is rolling like that, it gives, you know, the pitchers a little bit more freedom to attack the zone,” Luzardo said.
Miami finally got to him in the seventh, spoiling the shutout with a two-run home run on a sweeper in the bottom of the zone. Luzardo rebounded with a groundout and consecutive strikeouts to end his outing on a high note.
Tanner Banks and Max Lazar each pitched a scoreless inning in relief. Lazar had been recalled earlier on Tuesday when Brad Keller was placed on the injured list. He allowed a two-out single but then induced a groundout back to the mound, which he tossed over to Schwarber at first to seal it.
Then, for the first time, Schwarber joined the Phillies’ victory handshake line as an infielder.
“I was like, ‘Man, I wonder what they do out here,’” Schwarber said jokingly. “I usually just stroll out there and get J.T. and the pitcher with a nice little high five and things like that. But it was fun. It was nice to be out there.”
Phillies reliever Brad Keller was placed on the injured list with right forearm tendinitis, the team announced Tuesday.
The move is retroactive to Sunday. Keller has a 4.15 ERA in 31 appearances for the Phillies and is 3-for-4 in save opportunities. Interim manager Don Mattingly has used the right-hander in a high-leverage role this season, often as a setup for closer Jhoan Duran. The bulk of Keller’s appearances have come in the eighth inning.
In his last outing in Milwaukee on Saturday, Keller allowed three runs to score in the eighth on three singles, two walks, and a wild pitch.
“He’d been having little stuff going on, and it kind of continued, and it was something that we felt like we’re better off knocking it out right now, and not letting it get too far,” Mattingly said. “We feel good about him and we’re looking more long game with him, make sure that he’s going to be available as we go forward.”
Mattingly added that Keller will get imaging done, since that is a usual part of the process, but the Phillies do not expect it to reveal a major injury.
“Just probably inflammation and stuff like that,” Mattingly said. “But it is something that we know has been nagging. … We don’t need any heroes right now. Into September or something, and guys want to push through, you’ll allow it, but right now we don’t want that.”
In a corresponding move, Max Lazar was recalled from triple-A Lehigh Valley to join the Phillies bullpen. Lazar started the season on the injured list after suffering an oblique injury during the World Baseball Classic. He has a 3.86 ERA in 11 appearances for the IronPigs this year.
Kyle Schwarber played first base on Tuesday to allow Bryce Harper to be the designated hitter.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
Marsh leading off; Schwarber at first
The Phillies lineup for Tuesday’s game against the Marlins had a few twists.
Brandon Marsh was leading off against former Phillie Tyler Phillips, his first time starting a game atop the order since 2022.
Kyle Schwarber, hitting second in the order, started a game at first base for the first time since 2021. He had previously played an inning at first late in a blowout loss to the A’s in May, after Mattingly emptied the bench.
Trea Turner, who was hit by a pitch in the sixth inning Monday and later exited, was out of the lineup but is feeling better, according to Mattingly.
Schwarber started at first base on Tuesday to allow Bryce Harper to move to designated hitter and take a day off from defense, Mattingly said.
“Him being on the field like 10, 12 times a year has been in the works. He does work there occasionally,” Mattingly said. “We’re not going to kill him anywhere, but he handles himself all right out there. But we have to be able to do it some to be able to get Harp off his feet. This is kind of the week that we’re a little dinged up in the infield. … Just trying to give everybody a day, the guys that are kind of in there every day, before the extra off day coming.”
Mattingly, a nine-time Gold Glove winner at first base, is confident in Schwarber’s ability to adjust to the position.
“These guys have played their whole life, and I know we’re putting them in positions that aren’t really what they do, and you don’t want to do that all the time, but these guys are baseball players,” Mattingly said.
“They’ve been the best athletes on their teams from the time they were 8 years old, probably. So, him going out there, he’s probably going to have fun out there.”
The Marsh-Schwarber-Harper configuration stacks three lefties at the top of the Phillies order, which Mattingly felt comfortable doing because of their production against left-handed pitchers this season.
“Harp handles lefties, Schwarb handles them, Brandon’s been good with them,” Mattingly said. “They’re playing every day anyway. So this was one of those things that, today, felt OK.”
Trea Turner took a pitch off his right wrist on Monday.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Turner expected to return Wednesday
Turner’s bruised right wrist felt better Tuesday, Mattingly said, though he was still sore and stiff.
The Phillies shortstop was in the midst of a deep slump before he was hit by a fastball in the sixth inning on Monday.
Over his last seven games, Turner is 3-for-29 with 10 strikeouts and just one walk. His batting average has dropped to .216. In addition to helping him rest his wrist, Mattingly hopes a day off could help Turner reset at the plate.
“I think obviously getting off your feet, when you play every day, getting off your feet always helps a little bit,” Mattingly said. “I mean, I don’t know if we’re talking like he’s going to get hot or anything like that, but days off are good now and then.”
Extra bases
Right-handed pitcher Jackson Rutledge, who was designated for assignment by the Phillies on June 11, was released. … Andrew Painter (1-7, 6.43 ERA) is scheduled to start Wednesday’s series finale against Marlins right-hander Sandy Alcantara (6-4, 4.25).
Right away, Gabriel Rincones Jr. knew it was gone.
He let the bat flip off his fingertips as he started toward first base. Miami right fielder Owen Cassie made a futile jog toward the wall, but the ball kept carrying and carrying until it landed just inside the foul pole, Rincones’ first major league hit and home run all at once.
“I daydreamed about that, and tried to think about what it would feel like, what would I see, smell,” Rincones said. “And it’s very similar. I had a whole routine in my head with what I could possibly do, and thank God I was able to do that.”
The rookie outfielder debuted Friday in Milwaukee when he and the rest of the Phillies were baffled by Brewers star Jacob Misiorowski. But in his first start at Citizens Bank Park on Monday, Rincones made his presence felt in the 7-0 win over the Marlins.
It’s been a whirlwind few days for the right fielder, and it hasn’t all sunk in yet.
“I process things really slow,” Rincones said jokingly. “It doesn’t help — that atmosphere vs. one of the best pitchers in baseball, I had a crazy travel day, going out to Milwaukee, pretty bad weather there at the time. But I got good sleep today and was able to do my thing.”
Rincones’ solo homer in the second inning gave the Phillies an early lead they would not surrender as they pounded the Brewers for 10 hits. Every starter reached base at least once. That included Trea Turner, who was 0-for-3 before getting hit by a pitch in the sixth and was later removed from the game with a bruised right wrist.
Interim manager Don Mattingly said Turner’s X-rays were negative, but he is sore.
Phillies starter Zack Wheeler tossed six scoreless innings, even though he said postgame he was unsatisfied with his command.
“I think that’s something that makes him so special,” said catcher J.T. Realmuto. “He has very high standards for himself, and he doesn’t feel like he’s perfect. He feels like it’s not his best stuff, but he continues to go out and just give us quality innings and gives us a chance to win every time he steps on the mound.”
A leadoff single to Liam Hicks was the only hit he allowed until Joe Mack doubled in the fifth inning, but both times Wheeler battled back to strand the runner. He also pitched around three walks to hold the Marlins off the scoreboard.
“It’s a tightrope,” Wheeler said. “Just got to walk it fine and get outs. You put yourself in that situation, so you got to get out.”
Zack Wheeler was not happy with his command but the Marlins did not trouble the scoreboard on Monday. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Wheeler leaned on his splitter and cutter more than normal, and collectively those two pitches generated nine of his 12 swings-and-misses.
“I think those are probably the two pitches that kind of saved me today,” Wheeler said. “You sprinkle in everything else, but those two pitches really worked for me today.”
He struck out nine, four of which were called looking.
While there were offensive contributions up and down the Phillies lineup, it was the bottom of the order that consistently came through.
Rincones picked up another RBI in the third inning to add to the Phillies’ lead. With the bases loaded, he grounded into a force out that scored a run. Justin Crawford followed it up with a single that made it 3-0.
“The second at-bat I liked from the standpoint of putting the ball in play there,” Mattingly said. “Where he controlled the zone enough to get himself a pitch to put the ball in play, got us an extra run.”
J.T. Realmuto celebrates his two-run fifth-inning home run against the Marlins on Monday. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Realmuto then swatted a two-run homer in the fifth, his second home run in as many games after he had the day off on Sunday.
“It’s important for any team to be able to have a deep lineup, and that’s something we feel like we put together here, is being able to score up and down the lineup,” Realmuto said. “We haven’t obviously done that all season long, but we feel like when we’re at our best, we can score at any point, doesn’t matter who’s hitting. So it’s good to see us score some runs the last few games with the bottom half.”
The Marlins threatened the shutout in the eighth when they put two runners on against Jonathan Bowlan with an error and a single to bring up the heart of the order. But Bowlan struck out back-to-back Marlins — Kyle Stowers on a fastball and Xavier Edwards on a changeup — to end it.
The bottom of the order started another rally in the eighth when the Phillies loaded the bases on consecutive singles from Crawford and Edmundo Sosa and then a walk from Kyle Schwarber. They tacked on two more runs with two sacrifice flies to make it 7-0.
If it had remained a five-run game, Mattingly said he likely would have used a higher-leverage arm in Orion Kerkering for the ninth, but the extra cushion allowed him to bring in Chase Shugart instead. Shugart sidestepped a single to seal the shutout.
“Those kind of runs, they don’t seem huge during the course of a game because it’s 5-0,” Mattingly said. “But it’s really big from the standpoint of bullpen usage, who’s available tomorrow and the next day, so those are big runs at the end.”
After his second-inning homer, Rincones jogged back out to his position on defense, past where it had landed. He tipped his cap to the fans as they greeted him with an ovation.
“I don’t want this to get familiar,” he said. “I want it to be like it’s a new feeling, and that fire, I don’t want that to go away. And I want to give these fans all that I got.”
When the Phillies posted their lineup card ahead of Monday’s series opener against the Marlins, Trea Turner’s name was where it has been for the past few weeks: second in the order.
Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly said he didn’t consider giving Turner some time off as he’s continued to struggle at the plate. Turner was already slumping before the Phillies departed for their 3-3 road trip to Toronto and Milwaukee, but a 3-for-26 trip lowered his average to .219 and his OPS to .598 on the season.
Turner, who won the batting title in 2025 with a .304 average, has a 23% strikeout rate and 27.8% whiff rate this year. But Mattingly is steadfast that things will turn around.
“Because it’s Trea. He’s always hit,” Mattingly said. “It’s what we talked about earlier in the year with [Alec Bohm], when everybody was ready to bench him, not ever play him again. Guys who hit, hit. He’s a great player, and he’s going to be a great player for us.”
A few days off did work for Bohm’s own struggles this season. He had a two-day reset in May after his batting average dropped to .159 and then he hit two homers in the game immediately after. In the 32 games since then, Bohm has a .281/.326/.504 slash line.
Bohm was out of the lineup on Monday because he was a little “banged up,” according to Mattingly, who added that he was still healthy and should be back Tuesday. Edmundo Sosa started at third base in his place.
Alec Bohm benefited from his two-day “reset” in May.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
“He was just kind of gathering nicks and bruises as that road trip went on, a little bit in the hammy, a little bit in the hip, a little bit in the shoulder,” Mattingly said. “So I just wanted to give him a day, a chance to recover.”
Mattingly also said he hasn’t considered moving Turner further down in the batting order from the No. 2 spot.
“Not at this point. If it gets to that point, then [I’d] consider anything that’s going to help us win,” Mattingly said. “Everybody, all of a sudden, is talking about Trea today, but when we don’t score, Trea’s not the only reason when things like that happen. Trea’s a big piece of what we are, what we’re going to be, and if we’re getting really successful, we’re going to need Trea. So for me, I’m not giving up on Trea, I’m not moving him right now. It’s just the way I feel about it.
“ … I want to show confidence because I feel confidence. I wouldn’t say the things I say if I didn’t feel confident that Trea was going to find it, and be swinging more consistently and better as we go through the season.”
Phillies backup catcher Rafael Marchán has not been diagnosed with a concussion after he took a foul ball off the mask on Sunday in Milwaukee, Mattingly said. But the Phillies are still monitoring him.
“The update’s been good, and that we’ll continue to keep an eye on him,” Mattingly said. “I guess things can happen a couple days later, too, so we’ll keep an eye on him. But at this point the doctors have checked him out, he’s been through everything, and he’s good to go. ”
Extra bases
Left-handed reliever Kyle Backhus (left elbow inflammation) pitched one-third of an inning Sunday for triple-A Lehigh Valley for his rehab assignment. He entered with two inherited runners, walked a batter, and then struck out the next batter to end the inning. Backhus is next scheduled to pitch for the IronPigs Wednesday, and the Phillies plan to start building multiple innings. “He’s doing good, everything’s going in the right direction for him,” Mattingly said. … Outfielder Steward Berroa returned from the paternity list on Monday and was optioned to Lehigh Valley, the Phillies announced. … Jesús Luzardo (5-4, 4.35 ERA) is scheduled to start Tuesday against Marlins right-hander and Bishop Eustace product Tyler Phillips (1-1, 1.86), a former Phillie.
Major League Baseball released the first update for All-Star voting on Monday, and several Phillies are vying for starting spots.
With 668,191 votes, Brandon Marsh is third among National League outfielders behind the Dodgers’ Andy Pages (800,496) and Ronald Acuña Jr. (693,472) of the Braves.
Marsh entered Monday’s game against the Marlins with a .322 batting average, which ranks fourth in baseball and third in the NL.
“Great for him and great for us, and it’s good to see that nationally he’s starting to get recognized,” interim manager Don Mattingly said of Marsh. “After that April last year, he’s probably been one of the best hitters in baseball.”
Kyle Schwarber (820,009) ranks second for designated hitters behind the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani (1,165,133), who is the top vote-getter in baseball.
Bryson Stott is second among second basemen and Alec Bohm is second among third basemen, while Bryce Harper and J.T. Realmuto are third at first base and catcher, respectively.
Phase 1 of voting concludes on June 25 at noon, after which the top two vote-getters at each position and top six outfielders will advance to the second phase. The All-Star Game is July 14 at Citizens Bank Park.
It’s a good thing for the Phillies that he does, because they have leaned on their closer a lot this season. Even though Duran was on the injured list for 17 days this year with an oblique injury in his left side, he still ranks fourth in baseball in save opportunities.
“I need to be on the mound every day,” Duran said.
But in this week’s series against the Blue Jays, the Phillies asked even more of Duran than usual, when interim manager Don Mattingly used him three nights in a row. The last time Duran had made three appearances on three consecutive nights was from July 14-16, 2023, when he was a member of the Minnesota Twins.
“If I feel good, I want to be in the game,” Duran said. “So that’s me. The more I throw in the game, I feel more comfortable. I feel way better.”
Duran needed just nine pitches to record a save in Monday’s series opener against the Blue Jays. He threw eight pitches on Tuesday but blew his first save of the season as Toronto walked him off. On Wednesday, he rebounded with a 10-pitch save, his 17th of the season.
Mattingly said the process this season for determining Duran’s availability largely has been following the reliever’s lead. He plays catch pregame each day and then informs the coaches how he feels.
Jhoan Duran blew his first save of the season on Tuesday against the Blue Jays but closed out their win the following night to take the series.Sammy Kogan
“Jho’s been pretty good about telling us,” Mattingly said. “There’s been times when we thought he’d be available, and he says he needed a day. [Wednesday] was not one of those days, and he was adamant, and we kind of go with that.”
The “blown save” on the box score doesn’t capture the whole story of what happened Tuesday night. With the Phillies clinging to a one-run lead, things unraveled quickly: a broken-bat single (.070 expected batting average by Statcast) and another ground ball single (.150 expected batting average) put runners on the corners.
The Blue Jays used two pinch-runners, and after a wild pitch brought the tying run home, all they needed to do to end it was to get the ball out of the infield. Brandon Valenzuela delivered with a single, and Duran no longer had a perfect season.
Mattingly said he wanted to get Duran into another game quickly after that. But for Duran, what happened the day before made no difference. Like every day, he just wanted to pitch.
The flame-throwing right-hander has always had a short memory, and regardless of the result, he turns the page quickly. When Duran walked out on Wednesday, he wasn’t thinking about Tuesday at all.
“Yesterday is yesterday,” Duran said. “I was focusing on today, not yesterday. Yesterday is just the past for me.”
His teammates felt the same.
“We got all the confidence in the world in him,” Kyle Schwarber said.
Jhoan Duran and catcher J.T. Realmuto celebrate a victory in April.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Duran threw 27 pitches in three games, not including what he needed to warm up each night in the bullpen. While that total might not seem like much, for a reliever like him who can top 100 mph on the radar gun, each pitch is thrown at a high intensity.
Duran said he handles his workload and recovery by listening to his body.
“I do a lot of recovery in the training room,” he said. “I do it [in] the hotel, too. I always have my recovery machines with me.”
On Wednesday — this time with a three-run cushion — Duran let the leadoff man aboard with a single, but got Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to ground into a double play on the next pitch.
Ernie Clement poked a soft single, just 60.4 mph off the bat, but Duran struck out Kazuma Okamoto on three pitches to seal the win and record another save.
“Insanely [impressive]. His stuff is always elite, and he’s a workhorse, so we love having him in our corner,” said starter Jesús Luzardo. “Seeing him bounce back after [Tuesday] night, which I would call it unfortunate.
“His stuff is second to none. And I think that that’s why he’s the best closer in the game.”
TORONTO — Max Scherzer motioned for a mound visit.
The Phillies had put two runners on against him, and the 41-year-old Blue Jays pitcher just ran to cover first base on a fielder’s choice. He wanted a breather before facing Alec Bohm.
But it didn’t work. After play resumed, Scherzer hung a slider to Bohm, and he crushed it for his eighth homer of the season. The three-run shot to left field gave the Phillies some early separation in the third inning as they went on to beat Toronto, 7-4, and win the series.
The Blue Jays made things interesting late, clawing back against the Phillies bullpen to pull within three runs and make it a save situation. But a day after blowing his first save of the season, Jhoan Duran made his third appearance in as many nights in the ninth inning. He sidestepped two singles to seal the win, recording his 17th save in the process.
“It was great to see him bounce back,” said interim manager Don Mattingly. “And you like to get a guy back out there if you can, right away.”
Adolis García left the game in the seventh inning with a pulled muscle in the right shoulder area after making a throw to the plate. Steward Berroa took over in right field.
Mattingly said García will get imaging on Thursday’s off day, after which the Phillies will know more about the severity of the injury.
“Hope for the best, and we’ll see what happens,” Mattingly said.
According to StatCast metrics, García has posted a fielding run value of 5 this season, which is second-highest in the league among corner outfielders.
Bryce Harper hit a solo home run off Blue Jays pitcher Max Scherzer during the first inning.Chris Young
“Obviously, you lose a defender like that, it changes things a little bit,” Mattingly said. “But everybody deals with stuff all the time, so somebody’s going to have to pick it up.”
Scherzer was making his first start for Toronto since hitting the injured list on April 27. He had struggled this season before that, and the Phillies stayed patient in their approach against him, working at-bats and driving up his pitch count.
Bryce Harper set the tone in the first inning with a solo homer that bounced off Toronto’s bullpen railing that put the Phillies up, 1-0.
“Everyone’s excited, and then [he gets] back out there, and then we kind of jumped right back on him, and got Max’s pitch count going up,” Kyle Schwarber said. “And Bohmer had a really great swing there, three-run homer, and we just were able to keep tacking on.”
Once Scherzer’s night ended after 3⅓ innings, Schwarber didn’t let up against Toronto’s bullpen. He launched his eighth homer of the season off a left-hander in the fourth inning, with Mason Fluharty becoming his latest victim.
It marks Schwarber’s first homer since June 3. He took batting practice on the field pregame Thursday, which is not always part of his routine. He often hits inside in the cages.
Jesús Luzardo racked up eight strikeouts and held Toronto to four hits, all singles, in 5⅔ innings.Chris Young
“I wanted to go out there and work on something, see the ball fly a little bit,” Schwarber said. “So I was able to get that result and felt comfortable about it.”
It all gave Jesús Luzardo a sizable cushion to work with as he cruised for the first five innings. He racked up eight strikeouts and held Toronto to four hits, all singles.
Luzardo did lose his command in some spots. He issued back-to-back walks in the third, but was able to reset after a mound visit and struck out Ernie Clement to end it.
“I think it was good and bad. I think the walks are obviously very frustrating,” Luzardo said. “I beat myself up about that. I don’t like giving free passes, but I limited hard contact. Pitch count relatively stayed low, until the walks.”
Luzardo trains at Cressey Sports Performance in Florida during the offseason, the same facility that Scherzer does, and the two pitchers are friends.
“We talked about it a little bit when we got here,” Luzardo said. “So, I know he wanted that win, and I wanted it too, so it was a fun one.”
In the sixth, Luzardo issued back-to-back walks for the second time, but this time he couldn’t get out of it unscathed when backup catcher Brandon Valenzuela — who walked-off Duran on Tuesday night — singled to right field to score a run.
The Phillies got the run back in the top of the seventh inning, when Harper drew a walk, then Bohm and Bryson Stott hit back-to-back singles.
“We kept coming. I know this club enough, that they’re not going to stop playing, they’re going to keep going, and they’re dangerous,” said Mattingly. “They keep playing for nine innings.”
The Jays started to make things interesting in the seventh. Chase Shugart made his first appearance since Saturday and struggled with his command, issuing a leadoff single and then three consecutive walks to force in a run before recording an out. A deep sacrifice fly to the right field warning track brought home another run, and Brad Keller took over. Keller gave up a sacrifice fly that scored another run.
“Everything really went pretty well tonight, other than the one inning where we walked some guys,” Mattingly said. “Shug’s been really good, throwing strikes, pitching well. So that was a little out of the ordinary for us.”
José Alvarado pitched a scoreless eighth and struck out Valenzuela to reach 500 for his career. Duran took over for the ninth.
Mattingly felt comfortable using his closer for the third night in a row after Duran told him he felt good after his pregame catch routine.
“Jho’s pretty good about telling us,” Mattingly said. “There’s been times when we thought he’d be available, and he says he needed a day. Today was not one of those days, and he was adamant, and we kind of go with that.”
