Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Taijuan Walker has provided manager Rob Thomson reason to give his taxed rotation a bit of a breather with the impending return of Aaron Nola from the injured list.
Thomson is putting a six-man rotation in motion this weekend as the Phillies continue a four-game series against the host Washington Nationals.
Walker will take the mound on Saturday. Nola, out since mid-May due to a right ankle sprain, is expected to be reinstated from the injured list on Sunday morning to start the series finale that day.
That’s enough for at least one turn through the six-man rotation, per Thomson.
“Once, for sure, and then we’ve got some other ideas how to attack this thing as we move forward,” he said.
Walker (4-5, 3.39 ERA) was considered a candidate to be relegated to the bullpen upon Nola’s return, but he quieted such talk by allowing one run on 10 hits in 12 innings over his past two starts. The versatile Walker has a 3.31 ERA in 14 starts this year while also going 1-1 with one save and a 3.71 ERA in 11 appearances out of the bullpen.
That’s not too shabby considering Walker limped to a 3-7 record with a career-worst 7.10 ERA in 19 appearances (15 starts) last season.
“I busted my butt in the offseason,” he said. “I wanted to come back this year and just show that I worked hard and I was ready to get back in the rotation.”
Walker yielded four runs (one earned) on four hits and three walks over 5 2/3 innings in a 4-2 setback to Washington on May 1. He is 2-2 with a 3.48 ERA in eight career appearances (all starts) vs. the Nationals.
Philadelphia mustered three total runs during a three-game losing streak this week before Kyle Schwarber matched that total with one swing, a tiebreaking homer in the seventh inning of a 6-2 victory over the Nationals on Friday. Bryce Harper, who hit an RBI double in the first inning, followed Schwarber’s blast with a solo shot.
The power display was welcome for the Phillies, who saw trade-deadline acquisition Jhoan Duran leave the field on a bullpen cart after he took a line drive off the bat of Paul DeJong to his right foot in the ninth inning.
X-rays were negative for Duran, who will be evaluated further on Saturday.
Washington rookie Daylen Lile continued his torrid hitting this month by hitting a solo homer in the fourth inning on Friday to forge a 2-2 tie. The 22-year-old is batting 15-for-47 (.319) with five RBIs and eight runs in August.
Nationals right-hander Cade Cavalli (0-0, 3.86 ERA) will make his fourth career start and first against the Phillies on Saturday.
Cavalli, 27, followed 4 1/3 scoreless innings in his season debut on Aug. 6 vs. the Athletics by allowing four runs on seven hits in five-plus innings of a no-decision against the Kansas City Royals on Monday as the Nationals lost 7-4. The former top prospect essentially was undone by one pitch, as Salvador Perez hit a two-run homer in the sixth.
“I thought I executed it well, and that’s the game of baseball,” Cavalli said of Perez. “He’s a Hall of Fame catcher for a reason. He got me (on Monday), and I wish I could have that back now knowing that, but I executed it with my full conviction. And that’s what I’m going to live on.”
–Field Level Media
