Category: Phillies/MLB

Alex McFarlane announced his arrival in the majors on July 22 by getting Shohei Ohtani to fly out on a 100-mph fastball.

It has only gotten better since then.

Somehow.

McFarlane is the Next Big Thing in the Phillies’ bullpen, with a 0.79 ERA in 11 appearances and an ascending role in interim manager Don Mattingly’s late-inning pecking order.

“You can’t really let it get in your head,” McFarlane said Saturday. “Everybody in that bullpen is capable of doing every opportunity that they ask. If your name is called, your name is called for that situation. You know?”

Sure, but McFarlane can expect Mattingly and pitching coach Caleb Cotham to call his name more often in close games down the stretch.

Drafted one round before Orion Kerkering in 2022 but waylaid by injuries and a role change in the minors, McFarland is rising in the bullpen’s circle of trust as struggling Kerkering slips.

The contrast was evident Friday night. McFarlane took over a 3-2 deficit from starter Cristopher Sánchez and got three outs on eight pitches in the seventh inning. In the eighth, Kerkering gave up a two-run homer to the Braves’ Mauricio Dubón to hike his ERA to 8.44 since July 22.

A day later, Mattingly said the quiet part out loud.

“I think you get to a point where you have to pick up on what you see and maybe change that role a little bit,” he said. “You still know that [Kerkering]’s going to have to get big outs at different times of the game. But I think it’s fair to say that you have to pay attention to what’s going on.”

On the flip side, McFarlane has impressed with electric stuff, notably a triple-digit heater. He throws two fastballs (a four-seamer to righties and a sinker to lefties) and two sliders (a traditional version to lefties and a sweeper to righties).

But he also has demonstrated poise. Among his strikeout victims: Byron Buxton, Randy Arozarena, Mike Trout, and earlier this week, Nolan Arenado in a big spot in Arizona.

“It’s just building confidence from [facing] those guys,” McFarlane said. “Whatever happens, happens. But just being there, facing those guys is an achievement in and of itself. You work hard all season to get up to The Show and just be able to test your skills against the best. No matter the results, it’s a great experience.

“You have all the respect in the world for those guys. But when you’re out there pitching, they’re just another guy in the box. That’s the mindset I take with it. Then after the game, I would reflect and be like, ‘I really faced those guys.’ It’s an amazing opportunity. It’s an amazing experience.”

McFarlane’s biggest challenge has always been throwing strikes. He walked the leadoff batter in three of his first four appearances and sidestepped trouble. But he has walked only two batters in his last seven appearances.

Additionally, Mattingly noted that McFarlane has gotten better about holding runners by being quicker to the plate.

“Leadoff walks are going to be a thing that, as a reliever, you’ve got to stay on top of throughout your whole career in order to be successful,” McFarlane said. “It’s something that I’m just going to continue to hammer my whole career. You know leadoff walks are going to happen in your career. It’s how you respond.”

McFarlane has responded well enough that Mattingly wants to see more.

“I think everything has been good here,” Mattingly said. “There’s nothing really that’s been bad. The way he’s handled himself … he’s just had a good disposition about him. There’s been a lot of things that he does well.”

Oh, baby! Stott returns

Wearing a hospital wristband, Bryson Stott rejoined the Phillies and returned to the lineup after announcing on Instagram that his wife, Dru, gave birth to their third child, a daughter.

Stott was scratched an hour before Friday night’s game due to what the Phillies called “a personal matter.”

Just in case Stott was unable to make it back in time, the Phillies summoned infielder Otto Kemp from triple A. Kemp took batting practice before rejoining Lehigh Valley for its series at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Stott, who batted eighth and played third base against Braves lefty Martin Perez, was batting .284 with a .374 on-base percentage and .802 OPS in his last 75 games.

Extra bases

As expected, top prospect Aidan Miller made his 2026 debut at shortstop for low-A Clearwater. Miller, 22, was sidelined since February with a back condition that required a spinal procedure in June. … Righty reliever Caleb Kilian, sidelined by a strained muscle in his left side, played catch for the first time, the start of a throwing progression. It remains unclear if he will be ready to pitch before the end of the season. … First-round draft pick Tyler Spangler, an 18-year-old shortstop, hit his first professional homer Friday night for Clearwater. … Aaron Nola (6-10, 4.93 ERA) is scheduled to start at 1:10 p.m. Sunday against Braves righty Tyler Mahle (5-10, 4.25).

It won’t be a lost season for Aidan Miller, after all.

Miller, the Phillies’ top position player prospect, is scheduled to play five innings at shortstop Saturday for low-A Clearwater, a major league source said Friday night. The 22-year-old hasn’t played this season because of a low back condition.

The Phillies have been vague about Miller’s progress since his spinal procedure in early June. But minor league director Luke Murton signaled an impending return to the field in an appearance Friday on Phillies Extra, The Inquirer’s baseball podcast.

“Things are progressing very well,” Murton said. “I don’t want to overpromise and underdeliver, but there may be a surprise in the near future. I’ll say that.”

The Phillies hoped Miller would make his major league debut this season and even placed his spring training locker between Bryce Harper and J.T. Realmuto. But low back pain that cropped up late last season flared up in February. He didn’t resume swinging a bat until last month.

Miller tentatively is slated to make up for lost at-bats by playing in the Arizona Fall League, another source said Friday, but rosters have not been announced.

With Clearwater having qualified for the Florida State League playoffs, which begin next week, Miller could remain with the team beyond the weekend. There will be additional playing time available in double A or triple A, with those seasons not ending until Sept. 13 and Sept. 20, respectively.

When Miller’s back pain didn’t subside with rest, he saw multiple spine specialists and was diagnosed with discogenic pain and facet inflammation in the lumbar spine, according to the Phillies in June. He underwent a radiofrequency ablation of the facet joints, a procedure described by the Phillies as “minimally invasive.”

It’s unclear whether Miller will have to manage the condition throughout his career.

“As far as the long-term effects, positive, negative, I would let the [medical] experts speak to that,” Murton said. “But I feel pretty confident, [based on] what we’ve been seeing lately, that he’s on the right trajectory to be with us and be a good player for a long time.”

Aidan Miller may be close to playing again.

Miller, the Phillies’ top position player prospect, has missed the season because of a back condition. But in an appearance this week on Phillies Extra, The Inquirer’s baseball podcast, minor league director Luke Murton said the 22-year-old shortstop is “progressing very well.”

“I don’t want to overpromise and underdeliver, but there may be a surprise in the near future,” Murton said. “I’ll say that. I’ll leave it at that for now.”

The Phillies have been intentionally vague with updates on Miller, especially since a June 5 spinal procedure to relieve recurring low-back pain. At the time, the Phillies set a “goal to return to game activity in six to eight weeks.” But Miller only resumed all baseball activities, including swinging a bat, last month.

Murton suggested the Phillies have taken a conservative path with Miller.

“He wants to be on the field,” Murton said. “It’s hard. But he also understands the big picture. He’s got a long career ahead of him. … Just from seeing him move around of late, he’s moving as good as I’ve ever seen him. And so I’m excited about where he’s at right now. I’m excited about where he’s going to go.”

The minor league season is nearing an end, with both A-ball levels wrapping up Sunday, double A on Sept. 13, and triple A on Sept. 20. But the Phillies’ low-A Clearwater team qualified for the Florida State League playoffs next week, a logical starting point for Miller’s return to game action.

Double-A Reading also is closing in on a second-half title in the Eastern League, which would net a spot in the postseason and provide additional opportunity for Miller to get into games.

The Phillies also could choose to send Miller to the Arizona Fall League, which begins on Oct. 3. He was scheduled to play there last year, but the Phillies withdrew him because of late-season discomfort in his back.

Miller, the 27th overall pick in the 2023 draft, had an .825 OPS, 27 doubles, 14 homers, and 59 stolen bases last season, mostly in double A. He got promoted to triple A in September and went 9-for-27 (.333) with one homer and seven steals.

The Phillies hoped Miller would contribute in the majors this season, even purposely placing his spring training locker in the high-rent district of the clubhouse, in between Bryce Harper and J.T. Realmuto. But the back pain resurfaced in spring training after subsiding with rest in the offseason.

After seeing multiple spine specialists, Miller was diagnosed with discogenic pain and facet inflammation in the lumbar spine, according to the team in June. He underwent a radiofrequency ablation of the facet joints, a procedure described by the Phillies as “minimally invasive.”

It’s unclear whether Miller will have to manage the condition throughout his career.

“As far as the long-term effects, positive, negative, I would let the [medical] experts speak to that,” Murton said. “But I feel pretty confident, [based on] what we’ve been seeing lately, that he’s on the right trajectory to be with us and be a good player for a long time.”

The full episode of Phillies Extra will be available Friday on inquirer.com, The Inquirer’s YouTube channel, or by subscribing on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

PHOENIX — One swing decided it.

For seven shutout innings on Wednesday, Andrew Painter did his part against the Diamondbacks to preserve the scoreless tie. But Arizona catcher James McCann ambushed the first pitch thrown by reliever Jonathan Bowlan in the eighth inning for a go-ahead home run in the 1-0 Phillies loss.

The Phillies offense didn’t back up the rookie right-hander’s performance, despite it being a bullpen game for Arizona. With just three hits for each team, the margin of error for the pitchers was razor-thin. And McCann’s swing proved to be the difference.

“We didn’t really do enough to win,” said interim manager Don Mattingly. “We didn’t put any real pressure on them.”

Seven pitchers split the job on the mound for the Diamondbacks. Bryan De La Cruz accounted for the Phillies’ only hits through the first six innings: Aa double in the third and a single in the sixth. Both times, the Phillies failed to advance him. Bryce Harper added a single in the seventh, but the offense didn’t capitalize on that, either. They did not advance a runner to third base in the game.

It was a frustrating game to cap off a frustrating road trip for the top two hitters in the Phillies batting order. Trea Turner and Kyle Schwarber went hitless to finish with .158 and .171 respective batting averages across the nine-game swing. Turner struck out three times on Wednesday.

“It’s like early, late, early, late,” said Schwarber, who struck out twice. “There are going to be times when you’re up, you’re down, and you have to keep finding a way to be competitive, and that’s what I try to do on a daily basis, and get right back to work.”

The Phillies still went 6-3 on the trip, even without consistent contributions from the top two spots in the lineup. And although the team boarded the flight home for their biggest series yet — four games against NL East-leading Atlanta — on the heels of a loss, Painter’s performance Wednesday provided a dose of positivity.

The rookie turned in one of his best starts of the year as he continued his second-half resurgence. While starting pitching has long been the Phillies’ calling card, the revival of Aaron Nola and now Painter’s development has made them deeper and even more formidable.

Earlier this year, the Phillies had a stretch of 13 consecutive losses in games started by the fifth rotation spot. Painter was on the mound for seven of those, and the others came while he was demoted to triple A after his struggles reached a fever pitch.

“Early in the year, basically between him and Noles, it just was like, ‘Ah, these are bad days,’” Mattingly said. “Now, both of those guys, you feel like they’re going to give you a chance to win. So it is nice to have that.”

But even as a revitalized fastball and tweaked changeup helped turn Painter’s rookie season around, he still had issues giving up first-inning runs. He had a 10.00 ERA in the first inning entering Wednesday, which included the three early runs he allowed in his previous start in Anaheim.

Against the Diamondbacks, who have a relatively passive lineup with the fourth-lowest swing rate (45.7%) in baseball, Painter knew he had to be aggressive in the zone early. And after he gave up a leadoff single to Lars Nootbaar, that approach helped him settle in earlier than in his previous outings.

“They knew that I was in the zone a lot, so you kind of got to force their hand,” Painter said. “You need the early outs if you’re going to throw seven-plus innings. So just setting that tone early, and trying to earn a little bit more chase, or a little bit more aggressiveness a second or third time through.”

Painter retired the next nine Diamondbacks. He didn’t allow another hit until the seventh when Geraldo Perdomo singled, but he rebounded by forcing a Nolan Arenado ground out and striking out Tim Tawa on a changeup.

It was Painter’s sixth strikeout of the night — and fourth on that pitch — to end his outing on a high note. His confidence in the changeup has grown since he was called back up on July 31. On Wednesday, he threw it 30% of the time to left-handers and 12% of the time against righties.

While most pitchers shy away from throwing changeups to same-sided hitters because they break toward the batter, Painter views right-on-right changeups as a potential unexpected weapon.

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“The command of it was pretty consistent,” Painter said. “It was either down or it was arm side. There weren’t really those ones I hang over the middle of the plate. I thought they were really good to the righties. That’s something I want to continue to build on, is being able to throw that right-on-right.”

Painter’s pitch count reached 93 in the seventh inning. Mattingly said he would have considered sending the righty back out for the eighth if he was pitching on extra rest, but instead he called on Bowlan.

The reliever pitched 1⅓ innings during Tuesday’s win. His first pitch to McCann was a sweeper, located well at the bottom of the zone, but the Arizona catcher was sitting on it. He sent it 409 feet into the left-field seats.

“I feel like it was executed pretty well. Definitely could have been better, looking back on it,” Bowlan said. “But I mean, we’re not perfect, and I tried my best. He just put a good swing on it. … It’s just part of the game. You live and you learn.”

The Phillies put the tying run aboard when Harper drew his second walk of the game with two outs in the ninth inning. But there was no late-game magic this time. Luis Arraez grounded out on the first pitch to snap the Phillies’ win streak at six.

The club now heads back home to open a massive series against the Braves on Friday. Atlanta currently holds a four-game lead on the Phillies.

“I look at it like we need to win a game,” said Mattingly. “Keep it simple. Win a game.”