For two-thirds of this pandemic-shortened season, the Phillies were lucky. Not only were they COVID-free, but they also avoided injuries. The rest of the National League East must have been so jealous.
But now, in the midst of a meat grinder of a September schedule, they have lost two starting pitchers in a span of three days, a development that figures to test their depth at the most inopportune time.
Spencer Howard became the latest to go down. Staked to a five-run lead and cruising right along Saturday night in Miami, the rookie right-hander left in the fourth inning of an eventual 12-6 victory over the Marlins with what the Phillies characterized as "right shoulder stiffness."
Whatever else happened in an important win that evened a pivotal seven-game series at two games apiece _ another grand slam by Didi Gregorius, a drought-ending homer and three hits for Bryce Harper, two more hits for hot-shot rookie Alec Bohm _ had to be viewed through the prism of Howard walking off the mound with athletic trainer Paul Buchheit only three days after co-ace Zack Wheeler mangled a fingernail on his right hand.
With three doubleheaders and 17 games overall in 15 days to finish the regular season, the Phillies were going to need at least a six-man rotation and a bullpen start or two _ and that was with Wheeler and Howard taking their usual turns. Without them, arranging the rotation would become even more complicated for manager Joe Girardi and pitching coach Bryan Price.
Howard retired 10 of the first 11 batters, including back-to-back strikeouts of Corey Dickerson and Starling Marte to open the fourth inning. But he gave up a single, a walk, and a three-run homer to Brian Anderson that slashed the Phillies' lead to 5-3.
Girardi, Price, catcher J.T. Realmuto and Buchheit met Howard on the mound. After a brief conversation and no warm-up pitches, Howard left the game, replaced by reliever Heath Hembree.
There weren't any overt signs that anything was wrong. Howard's fastball velocity dipped sharply throughout an Aug. 31 start against the Washington Nationals, although Girardi insisted that the 24-year-old was "healthy as a horse." That wasn't the case against the Marlins. He hit 94 mph three times in the fourth inning and averaged 93.7 mph, relatively consistent with his season average of 94.1 mph.
The Phillies hoped Howard could work deep into the game, especially with Sunday's looming doubleheader, the second in three days between the teams. And they gave him a big lead to work with.
Gregorius rocked his seventh career grand slam in the first inning against Marlins starter Jose Urena. It was the second slam of the season for Gregorius, who has been ridiculously successful (31 for 86) with the bases loaded in his career.
Harper led off the third inning by slicing a home run the opposite way to left field. It marked the first time since the first inning on Aug. 22 _ a span of 83 plate appearances _ that he went deep. He added a single in the fifth inning and a double in the Phillies' five-run eighth and has reached base in six of seven plate appearances since snapping an 0-for-18 skid Friday night.
Howard's injury aside, he struggled the second time through the order, a theme in his six career starts. The first time through the order, hitters are 9 for 49 (.184) with five walks and 17 strikeouts against him. The second time, they are 17 for 42 (.405) with five walks and five strikeouts.
With the bullpen needing to record 16 outs in relief of Howard, the combination of Hembree, JoJo Romero, Brandon Workman, Tommy Hunter and Adam Morgan gave up three runs. But the Phillies continued to tack on runs to keep the lead comfortable.
The Phillies are 23-20, the fifth-best record in the league. If they finish even 8-9, they should still be among the top eight teams in the NL, which would give the franchise its first playoff berth since 2011.
But after a run of good health, their chances of playing deep into October might rest with a speedy return from Wheeler and Howard.
