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New York Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Phillies takeaways: Relief for bullpen, offseason additions underwhelm, and a late-season move?
Sunday brought a series-clinching win for the Phillies and, with it, a brief bullpen rollercoaster. Orion Kerkering entered to face pinch hitter Drake Baldwin and the top of the Atlanta Braves' lineup in the eighth. He struck out Ronald Acuña Jr. on four pitches, the final fastball sending the star right fielder swinging and missing in the zone. A single from Matt Olson aside, Kerkering shined as he struck out three on a combined 13 pitches. Advertisement Then came lefty Matt Strahm in the ninth, whose trouble started with a 91.9 mph fastball near the center of the zone. Ozzie Albies lashed the pitch for a one-out single to left. Two batters later, Strahm walked Eli White on six pitches. A wild pitch sent Albies to third, putting runners on the corners with two outs. The Braves did not complete the comeback, but it was within arm's reach. So was a difficult day for the Phillies' bullpen, which escaped unscathed in a 2-1 win. Strahm's velocity is up, but his stuff has not played well at times, as he's allowed four runs (two earned) and eight hits while striking out nine across 10 innings in June. His exit velocity is up against everything but his slider in June, while his whiff rate is down on all of his pitches. Jordan Romano started the month pitching the ninth before giving up walk-offs against the Toronto Blue Jays and Pittsburgh Pirates. Kerkering has been the main positive of late in the back of the bullpen, flourishing since moving into the closer-by-committee operation in Miami two weeks ago. He has one earned run and two saves across 11 innings in June. But one excelling high-leverage reliever is not enough for a team with World Series aspirations, which is already without José Alvarado because of his 80-game PED suspension. Ahead of the trade deadline, the president of baseball operations, Dave Dombrowski, told The Athletic that the back end of the bullpen is the Phillies' 'main focus.' There is one month to go until then. The Phillies just need to make it there, then make the right moves. Saturday was not the first time this season Romano has hunched over, watching his bad pitch become someone else's very good night. It was not the first time this month; Romano yielded walk-offs to Pittsburgh and Toronto and saw helmets fly, the opposing dugout swarm the field. The right-hander, signed to a one-year, $8.5 million deal in December, was called 'one of the best back-end, high-leverage guys in baseball' by Dombrowski at the time. But the former Blue Jays closer, coming off an elbow injury in 2024, has been shaky more often than not. Advertisement He was one of three key offseason acquisitions who appeared in Saturday's 6-1 loss to the Braves, with left fielder Max Kepler ($10 million, one-year deal) and reliever Joe Ross ($4 million, one year) being the others. Their impact was mild at best, loss-provoking at worst. The same could be said about the trio's combined impact in June: • Kepler did not reach base on Saturday, striking out twice. He took issue with being platooned multiple times during the past week, telling The Athletic: 'I was told I was going to be the starting left fielder.' • Ross struck out two but gave up a single and walked one. He's allowed eight earned runs across 10 innings this month, including three runs against the Mets on June 21 after taking over with a 4-3 deficit. • Romano gave up a grand slam to Atlanta's Sean Murphy — the catcher's first home run since May 29 — to hand the Braves a commanding lead. Once a key part of the Phillies' closer-by-committee operation, Romano has pitched in the seventh during his past five outings. This was the first winter the Phillies did not sign a player to a multi-year deal since the 2016-17 offseason. The combined $22.5 million spent on Kepler (0.2 WAR), Ross (minus-0.3 WAR) and Romano (0.1 WAR) has added up to about zero wins above replacement, according to FanGraphs. All three players were injured at some point in 2024. There was some risk, some reward to signing them in the offseason. But, as of June, it appears the risks outweigh the group's collective upside. The upcoming schedule poses more tests, particularly for Kepler. The left fielder is batting .184 across his past 10 games with a .542 OPS. Against the Braves, Kepler went 2-for-11 with three walks. He has primarily seen playing time against righties and will continue to as the Phillies are scheduled to face three consecutive Padres righties to start this week. Advertisement Should the Phillies look for an outfield shakeup? No. 3 prospect Justin Crawford, who has played some left field, is slashing .344/.434/.469 in 76 plate appearances with Triple-A Lehigh Valley in June. Sure, Ranger Suárez has been a reliever before. But he continues to look like he shouldn't be moved to the bullpen come postseason (or part of any late-season adjustments), striking out eight across seven innings on Sunday. He has the best ERA (1.19) in the majors among healthy pitchers since his second start of the year on May 10. Suárez is deceptive. His cutter and changeup combined for 10 whiffs on Sunday. And he's healthy, which he's said is most important to his continued success. It is difficult to imagine Suárez, should he pitch like this into September, being moved to the bullpen. Dombrowski told The Athletic he does not anticipate moving a starter to the bullpen anytime soon. Any changes would likely come late in the regular season or during the postseason, he said. Those dates are far away. But there's an early candidate for the move: Jesús Luzardo, who has stumbled somewhat since recovering from potentially tipping and surrendering 20 runs to the Cubs and Brewers. Luzardo has worked high pitch counts early in recent outings; it was 13 after the first inning on Saturday, which jumped to 44 after facing six batters in the second. His pitch count sat at 35 after the second inning against the Marlins on June 17, when he also went five innings. Luzardo's stuff remains sharp. His sweeper is a strong out pitch. His changeup drew five whiffs on nine swings Saturday. He pitched out of the bullpen at times with Oakland, making his postseason debut in relief in October 2019. He allowed one hit and walked two across three innings. There is plenty of time to make these decisions. But, for now, Luzardo looks like a worthwhile candidate for high-leverage bullpen situations later. (Top photo of Matt Strahm: Mady Mertens / Imagn Images)
CBS News
3 days ago
- Sport
- CBS News
Ranger Suárez shines again as Philadelphia Phillies edge Atlanta Braves 2-1 to take series
Ranger Suárez pitched seven strong innings and the Philadelphia Phillies edged the Atlanta Braves 2-1 to take the three-game series on Sunday. Suárez (7-2) gave up just one run on four hits. He struck out eight, walked one and lowered his ERA to 2.00. Orion Kerkering pitched a scoreless eighth and Matt Strahm earned his fifth save for the Phillies. Otto Kemp's double into the left field corner in the fifth inning scored Bryson Scott from first, and Kemp later came home on Trea Turner's sacrifice fly to center to give the Phillies a 2-1 lead. Spencer Strider (3-6) had another strong start against the Phillies but lost for just the second time in 10 career decisions against Philadelphia. He gave up two runs on five hits in seven innings, striking out four and walking three. Catcher Sean Murphy was the lone Brave to do damage against Suárez, crushing a 451-foot home run to center field in the second inning. No other Brave reached second base in Suárez's seven innings. Kyle Schwarber was 2 for 3 with a walk, and Nick Castellanos had two hits for the Phillies, who lead the NL East. Braves first baseman Matt Olson was 2 for 4 and extended his on-base streak to 30 games, the longest active one in the majors. Key moment The Braves had runners on first and third with two outs in the ninth inning before Strahm got Stuart Fairchild to fly out to center field to end the game. Key stat Suárez has 10 consecutive quality starts, longest streak by a Phillies pitcher since Cole Hamels and Cliff Lee each did it in 2013. Up next Phillies: RHP Zack Wheeler (7-3, 2.45) will open a three-game home series against the Padres on Monday. San Diego has yet to announce a starter. Braves: Rookie Didier Fuentes (0-2, 10.80) will make his third career start Tuesday in the opener of a three-game series in Atlanta against Angels LHP Tyler Anderson (2-5. 4.41).
Washington Post
3 days ago
- Sport
- Washington Post
Ranger Suárez shines again as Phillies edge Braves 2-1 to take series
ATLANTA — Ranger Suárez pitched seven strong innings and the Philadelphia Phillies edged the Atlanta Braves 2-1 to take the three-game series on Sunday. Suárez (7-2) gave up just one run on four hits. He struck out eight, walked one and lowered his ERA to 2.00. Orion Kerkering pitched a scoreless eighth and Matt Strahm earned his fifth save for the Phillies.
Al Arabiya
3 days ago
- Sport
- Al Arabiya
Ranger Suárez Shines Again As Phillies Edge Braves 2-1 To Take Series
Ranger Suárez pitched seven strong innings and the Philadelphia Phillies edged the Atlanta Braves 2–1 to take the three-game series on Sunday. Suárez (7–2) gave up just one run on four hits. He struck out eight, walked one, and lowered his ERA to 2.00. Orion Kerkering pitched a scoreless eighth and Matt Strahm earned his fifth save for the Phillies. Otto Kemp's double into the left field corner in the fifth inning scored Bryson Scott from first, and Kemp later came home on Trea Turner's sacrifice fly to center to give the Phillies a 2–1 lead. Spencer Strider (3–6) had another strong start against the Phillies but lost for just the second time in 10 career decisions against Philadelphia. He gave up two runs on five hits in seven innings, striking out four and walking three. Catcher Sean Murphy was the lone Brave to do damage against Suárez, crushing a 451-foot home run to center field in the second inning. No other Brave reached second base in Suárez's seven innings. Kyle Schwarber was 2 for 3 with a walk, and Nick Castellanos had two hits for the Phillies, who lead the NL East. Braves first baseman Matt Olson was 2 for 4 and extended his on-base streak to 30 games, the longest active one in the majors. Key moment: The Braves had runners on first and third with two outs in the ninth inning before Strahm got Stuart Fairchild to fly out to center field to end the game. Key stat: Suárez has 10 consecutive quality starts, the longest streak by a Phillies pitcher since Cole Hamels and Cliff Lee each did it in 2013. Up next: Phillies: RHP Zack Wheeler (7–3, 2.45) will open a three-game home series against the Padres on Monday. San Diego has yet to announce a starter. Braves: Rookie Didier Fuentes (0–2, 10.80) will make his third career start Tuesday in the opener of a three-game series in Atlanta against Angels LHP Tyler Anderson (2–5, 4.41).
Yahoo
19-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Phillies' Matt Strahm Claps Back at Fan on Social Media, 'Let Me do My Job'
Phillies' Matt Strahm Claps Back at Fan on Social Media, 'Let Me do My Job' originally appeared on Athlon Sports. With the Philadelphia Phillies' bullpen in a precarious state, as players underperform and Jose Alvarado is suspended, any hiccup is heightened. After the Phillies' latest game against the Miami Marlins, Matt Strahm had his issues on the mound, but got out of it and secured the win. Advertisement After the game, Strahm took to Twitter/X and commented on a post from Phillies broadcaster Tom McCarthy. In a response to Strahm's post, a fan of the team called for Strahm to "get his priorities straight" due to Strahm's recent struggles on the mound. Three minutes later, Strahm clapped back at the fan. "Like tom said." Strahm wrote, "🤫 and let me do my job. Feel free to clap your hands together the other times I pitch, too 🤙🏻" Strahm told the fan to be quiet and let him do his job. He also clapped back, saying that the fan should still clap his hands and cheer whenever Strahm pitches well. His response isn't the first time Strahm has called out fans on Twitter/X over their complaints about him or his teammates. He previously defended Orion Kerkering early in the season, and now Kerkering is the team's best reliever. Advertisement This time, he's defending himself. There's a good reason he has to defend himself, though. His recent outings have been a little shaky. In three of his last four outings, Strahm has allowed one earned run. Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Matt Strahm (25) throws a pitch during the eighth inning against the Atlanta Braves at Citizens Bank Hartline-Imagn Images Fortunately for the Phillies, none of those outings cost the team the game, and they won each one. Against the Chicago Cubs, Strahm allowed one run on one hit in the eighth inning in a 3-2 victory. He also allowed a run on two hits against the Marlins earlier in the week, but the Phillies still won 5-2. But his most recent one nearly ended in disaster. He allowed one run on three hits. With the winning run at the plate, Strahm allowed a long fly ball, which was caught against the wall by Nick Castellanos. Advertisement It was the third outing in his last four where he almost blew it for the Phillies. But he held strong and helped secure a win for the team, and afterwards, he clapped back at a fan calling him out for his recent struggles. Strahm has a 3.86 ERA and won't make the All-Star team like he did a year ago. But he's still one of the best relievers on the team, and with the issues in the bullpen, his role going forward is going to be a massive one. Related: Phillies' Nick Castellanos Sends Six-Word Message After Rob Thomson Benching Related: Phillies Announce Trade With Rangers for Right-Handed Pitcher This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 19, 2025, where it first appeared.
