The Philadelphia Phillies boosted their offense with a significant trade at the beginning of the week, but they opted not to tweak the back end of their rotation.
The Phillies look to push their winning streak to five games Wednesday when they continue their four-game home series with the Washington Nationals.
In advance of Monday’s trade deadline, Philadelphia acquired Luis Arraez from the San Francisco Giants. The move paid immediate dividends as Arraez registered two hits and two RBIs in Tuesday’s 5-0 triumph.
“It’s amazing,” said the veteran infielder. “They welcomed me here and I’ve come here to do my thing here. Thank God we won the game.”
Jesus Luzardo gave the Phillies eight scoreless innings on Tuesday, although the team already knew it could count on him, as well as Cristopher Sanchez and Zack Wheeler at the top of the rotation. That isn’t the case with fifth starter Andrew Painter (1-8, 6.72 ERA), who has scuffled through the majority of his rookie season.
Painter spent more than a month in the minors before returning Friday to allow two runs and three hits in six innings against the Baltimore Orioles. The right-hander also walked three batters in that one, although Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly generally was positive about his outing.
“If you thought you were getting that every time out, then you would like him in that spot,” Mattingly said, adding that “it was really good to see.”
Painter still has not won since his major league debut on March 31 against the Nationals. He held them to one run in 5 1/3 innings that day in his only career appearance versus Washington.
In this one, Painter will face a Nationals team that has lost seven games in a row. They have scored a total of 16 runs in those contests and managed only five hits in Tuesday’s affair.
One major issue for Washington is the absence of James Wood. The team’s star outfielder was placed on the injured list with an oblique strain on Tuesday. That move came in the wake of recent deals that sent versatile infielders Luis Garcia Jr. and Curtis Mead to postseason contenders.
“It’s not easy (without them),” Nationals manager Blake Butera said. “But we’ve also had some other guys in our lineup that have swung the bats well and have gotten us to this point with how well our offense has played. … Hopefully, this is a short-term thing with James. But at least over the next 10 days, it’s an opportunity for other guys to step up. We need to have the next-man-up mentality.”
Butera hopes that Jake Irvin (2-5, 5.56) can step up Wednesday in his second start since returning from a two-month absence due to a shoulder strain. In his first game back, the right-hander gave up five runs in five-plus innings against the host Atlanta Braves.
“I felt good (after five innings),” said Irvin, who gave up two runs in the fifth and two more in the following frame. “Just need to execute a heck of a lot better there in the sixth inning.”
Irvin has not faced the Phillies this season. For his career, he is 0-5 with a 6.42 ERA in eight lifetime starts against Philadelphia.
–Field Level Media
