Painter Struggles, Offense Disappears, Phillies Drop First Game Under Mattingly 4-0
Rhona Wise/Imagn Images
The Phillies entered Saturday night’s matchup against the Miami Marlins with momentum, winning four straight games under new manager Don Mattingly. Unfortunately, their luck ran out as they were stomped by the Marlins 4-0. It was a struggle throughout the entire night, the team reverted back to the same issues they had earlier in the season. Painter could not command his secondary pitches well en route to a struggling performance. The offense could only muster one hit on the night, making it was a forgettable night for the Phillies.
The game started off quietly, as both young pitchers in Andrew Painter and Max Meyer worked clean innings. Meyer continued that in the second; however, Painter began to struggle, loading up the bases on three straight singles, unable to get out of the inning unscathed. The next inning, three straight singles loaded up the bases for Painter again. This time, however, he walked the next two batters to make the game 2-0. The Marlins wouldn’t look back from there as they scored one more time off Painter, a Xavier Edwards home run in the fifth. Painter ended his day with a line of five innings, allowing three runs on sevens hits and three walks, while striking out seven.
Those seven strikeouts are telling, because even with the struggles that he has had this season so far, outside his debut outing, there is a clear sign of talent and ability. The issues he is having is a clear example of a young pitcher getting used to the Majors, but that doesn’t mean he’s not a good pitcher, but it doesn’t mean he is void of issues that need to be fixed.
“You have to be able to locate your fastball early on in the count,” said postgame analyst and former Phillies Reliever Ricky Bottalico after Saturday’s game. Bottalico made clear the fact that Painter does not trust his fastball and needs to work on his mechanics to get that fastball to where it needs to be, because far too many times, especially Saturday night, has Painter began far too many at-bats not using the fastball, and it has come to hurt him.
Painter was drafted and beloved throughout the Minor Leagues for how good his fastball was, a fastball that was dominant and a calling card. Rightfully so, it was almost unhittable and led the first-rounder to a sub-two ERA in his first professional season in 2022, and if it were not for his injury, he would have made the Phillies roster out of Spring Training. Since getting to the Majors, however, it’s been clear the fastball has not been a strength, and on nights he struggles with other pitches, that means he’s going to have a rough night.
The bigger issue on the night was the non-existent offense. Miami starting pitcher Max Meyer was absolutely dominant, going seven innings and only allowing one hit on the night, a Garret Stubbs single, while striking out seven Phillies. The lineup just seemed totally outmatched, brutally uncomfortable. They seemed to just chase pitches and were far too conservative for the type of pitcher they were facing. Meyer is a pitcher that tries to get hitters to chase, and he certainly did, as the Phillies could not get anything going against him. The one hit for the offense was the fewest in a game since 2023.
Overall, it was a rough night. To put it simply, nothing went well for the Phillies tonight. But it’s important to note that the team is coming off a four-game win streak and have been playing their best baseball of the season so far during this stretch. This is a sport that is bound to have clunkers, and while it didn’t feel good to watch a lackluster performance, there is no reason to start thinking the team can not continue to kindle the flame that was building during the previous 4 games prior to Saturday night.
Christopher DeMaio
Christopher is a Delaware County Native and a graduate of Devon Preparatory School, class of 2025. He is currently attending University and is in his second semester. Chris, growing up playing since the age of 4, fell in love with his hometown Phillies and continues that love with listening to sports radio, reading articles, writing for Philly Sports Reports’ Phillies team, and, of course, watching the Phils.
Get New Articles Emailed Right To Your Inbox:
