After ending their 10-game losing streak on Saturday, the Philadelphia Phillies once again entered the loss column, with a 6-2 loss to the Atlanta Braves on Sunday. The Phillies have not received production from any part of their roster, with their pitching staff dead last in baseball in team ERA (5.80), and the offense is second-worst in hitting (.219) and OPS (.656).
Despite a poor showing from the team as a whole, right-hander Andrew Painter has proven to be one bright spot.
Andrew Painter has shown himself to be a shining light in a sea of darkness for the Philadelphia Phillies
Five games into his major league career (four starts), Painter has shown glimpses of being a frontline starter. Overall, the 23-year-old is 1-2 with a 5.25 ERA, but is coming off a rough outing against the Braves on Friday, which inflated his numbers.
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Before allowing five earned runs on nine hits to the Braves, Painter allowed 21 hits, 9 earned runs, four walks, and struck out 20 in 18.1 innings. According to MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki, Painter’s performance against the Arizona Diamondbacks proved him to be the standout player over outfielder Justin Crawford.
Painter pitched in relief after suffering a migraine the morning of his start and forced right-hander Zach Pop to be the opener. Painter threw five innings, allowed three hits, allowed an earned run, walked one, and struck out seven.
“Truth be told, no Phillies newcomer has stood out from the pack,” wrote Zolecki. “Rookie center fielder Justin Crawford has had his moments at the plate, but we’re going with Painter. He is 1-2 with a 5.45 ERA in five appearances (four starts), but he has been hurt at times by the Phillies’ defense. But you can see Painter developing into a solid starter. He certainly showed something a couple of weeks ago when he got scratched from a starter against Arizona because of a migraine, then entered the game in the third and pitched well.”
Painter’s next start should come on Thursday against the San Francisco Giants. Painter was roughed up in his previous start against the Giants in San Francisco, where they tagged him for four earned runs on nine hits.
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