PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Phillies once again have reason to worry about Andrew Painter, although this latest concern comes from an entirely different issue.
Painter looked poised to deliver another encouraging outing Wednesday night, but his start was cut short after he developed tightness in his left hamstring. The rookie right-hander exited after four innings during Philadelphia’s eventual 10-4 loss to the Washington Nationals.
Painter believes the injury is unlikely to be serious, but the Phillies plan to examine him again Thursday before determining the severity of the issue.
Unfortunately for Philadelphia, Painter was not the only player to suffer an injury scare.
Outfielder Derek Hill was forced to leave in the top of the 11th inning after running at full speed into the center-field wall while attempting to make a play on a deep fly ball. Hill remained on the ground for several minutes before eventually walking off under his own power with members of the team’s medical staff.
The Phillies said Hill suffered a right shoulder contusion, although interim manager Don Mattingly indicated the medical team would conduct a more thorough evaluation.
“You hit a wall like that, it’s not too forgiving,” Mattingly said, explaining that the club would wait overnight before determining how Hill feels the following day.
The injury drama continued moments earlier when Bryce Harper appeared to hurt himself while sliding into second base during a caught-stealing play that ended the bottom of the 10th inning.
According to Mattingly, Harper said his hand became stuck during the slide. After spending an extended period with the medical staff, however, Harper remained in the game.
The string of injury scares ultimately became the biggest storyline from what turned into a chaotic night for Philadelphia.
The game unraveled in the 11th inning after Hill’s collision with the wall allowed CJ Abrams to deliver a go-ahead two-run triple. Washington then added four more runs, turning a competitive game into a 10-4 rout.
Both teams were forced to dig deep into their available personnel. Philadelphia used every pitcher in its bullpen, while Washington exhausted its bench. With no position players left, the Nationals even turned to Miles Mikolas — scheduled to start Thursday — as a pinch-hitter during the wild 11th inning.
Mikolas responded by successfully laying down a sacrifice bunt, becoming the first opposing pitcher to record an RBI against the Phillies since Sept. 23, 2021.
For Philadelphia, it was simply one of those nights where everything seemed to go wrong.
Painter’s hamstring issue first surfaced during the opening inning. While facing Nationals left fielder Daylen Lile, Painter’s foot appeared to stick in the dirt as he followed through toward first base after throwing a 96 mph fastball for a strikeout.
Although Painter continued pitching for several more innings, Mattingly said the tightness gradually became more noticeable, prompting the club to take no chances.
Painter’s four-seam fastball averaged 95.6 mph against Washington, slightly below his season average of 96.6 mph.
The setback is particularly frustrating because Wednesday marked only Painter’s second start since he returned to Philadelphia’s rotation last Friday.
The highly touted right-hander opened the season in the Phillies’ rotation after years of being viewed as one of the organization’s top prospects. However, after struggling through his first 14 career appearances with a 7.06 ERA, Painter was sent to Triple-A on June 17.
He made five starts for Lehigh Valley before the Phillies recalled him shortly before Monday’s Trade Deadline.
Painter had hoped to build on his encouraging return against Baltimore, and although he again showed flashes of his potential Wednesday, the hamstring problem prevented him from completing the outing.
“Super frustrating,” Painter said. “My job is to go and eat innings and take that off the bullpen, and the game tonight went a little longer than expected, so the bullpen had to do a little more work.”
Philadelphia was active in its search for starting pitching ahead of the Trade Deadline but ultimately failed to acquire another starter.
Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski acknowledged that the club’s starting-pitching depth now creates at least some concern, although he remains confident in the overall rotation when everyone is healthy.
“We feel, if we can make it to the postseason, our starting rotation is in really solid shape,” Dombrowski said. “Other people are looking to add to their top three. In our situation, that really wasn’t a necessity. So if we were going to do it and add somebody, they would have had to be significantly better, in our opinion, than Andrew.”
That assessment, however, assumes the Phillies can keep all five starters healthy.
If Painter or another member of the rotation is forced to miss significant time, Philadelphia’s pitching depth could quickly become a much bigger issue as the team pushes toward the postseason.
For now, Painter remains optimistic.
“We’ll come in and see where we’re at tomorrow, but I feel good about it moving forward,” Painter said. “I don’t think it’s going to be anything too serious.”
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