Chase Anderson was long gone from Sunday’s game, having failed to complete the fourth inning, when two potential back-of-the-rotation options for the Phillies materialized on the mound in Colorado.
One, Spencer Howard, was already wearing a red and gray uniform.
The other: Rockies starter Jon Gray.
Howard’s role with the Phillies remains complicated. They want him to pitch meaningful innings this year, but after a shoulder problem curtailed his workload in back-to-back seasons, they don’t know how many he will be able to provide or whether they will come in the bullpen or the rotation.
Regardless, mopping up for Anderson and David Hale in a 12-2 throttling by the Rockies at Coors Field isn’t the best use of those innings.
Gray, meanwhile, had little trouble with the Phillies save Bryce Harper, who crushed home runs in each of his first two plate appearances against the tall right-hander. Gray has pitched well in four starts this season, but the Rockies -- even after taking two of three games from the Phillies this weekend -- have the worst record in the National League.
If you’re betting on a pitcher to be dealt before the July 31 trade deadline, Gray is a solid candidate.
It sure seems like the Phillies will be in the market for rotation help. The fourth- and fifth-starter spots have been occupied by Matt Moore, Vince Velasquez, and Anderson, and between them, they have posted a 7.39 ERA in eight starts. Just as troubling, they have combined for 31 2/3 innings, an average of less than four innings per start.
The Phillies are 1-7 in games not started by Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler, or Zach Eflin.
Anderson’s previous early exits had been mostly a product of poor timing. Last Monday, for instance, he gave up two runs in four innings and would have remained in the game if his spot in the order hadn’t come up with runners on base, the Phillies trailing, and the bullpen rested.
But Anderson earned the hook in the fourth inning against the Rockies. With one on, two out, and the Phillies leading 2-1, he walked No. 8-hitting Dom Nunez on a full-count curveball in the dirt, then left a cutter up to Gray for a game-tying RBI single.
Raimel Tapia followed with a single to drive in Nunez before Anderson walked Garrett Hampson to load the bases. The Phillies replaced Anderson with Hale, who promptly hung a curveball that Trevor Story launched for a grand slam to make it 7-2.
Success for the Phillies this season is predicated on two basic things: Quality starts in 60% of their games from Nola, Wheeler, and Eflin, and their best players on a top-heavy roster being the best players on the field most of the time.
The Phillies won Saturday night behind Nola and two homers from Rhys Hoskins. Harper supplied a 2-0 lead in the series finale by hitting Gray’s slider out to right field in the first inning and his changeup into the second deck in right in the third. The second homer traveled 468 feet, according to Statcast, and was the third-longest hit by any player so far this season.
But that was the extent of the Phillies’ offense against Gray. He gave up two-out singles to Mickey Moniak in the second inning and Didi Gregorius in the sixth and issued two walks. Other than Harper’s circling of the bases, the Phillies got only one runner to third against him.
In four starts this season, Gray has a 2.54 ERA. He struggled in eight starts last year but had a 3.84 ERA in 2019. He’s making $6 million and is eligible for free agency at season’s end, making him a relatively affordable two-month rental for a contender that needs a No. 4 starter.
It remains to be if the Phillies, 10-11 through 21 games, will be a contender.
