WASHINGTON — This was the state of the Phillies’ bullpen when Joe Girardi showed up to work Tuesday:
— Archie Bradley had pitched three days in a row.
— Héctor Neris went two innings Monday night.
— Connor Brogdon was headed to the injured list with right elbow tendinitis.
— Newly acquired closer Ian Kennedy threw 49 pitches in the last two days.
“We have to piece it together,” Girardi said, shrugging.
The bullpen jigsaw puzzle is more easily solved when Zack Wheeler starts, and the Phillies’ ace dazzled for much of Tuesday night’s 5-4 victory over the Washington Nationals. But even then, after Wheeler gave up a two-run homer to Josh Bell in the eighth inning, the Phillies had five outs to get and a limited number of relievers to get them.
Girardi called on Neris, the deposed closer, who got out of the eighth inning. Then he turned to erratic lefty José Alvarado, who fell behind the first batter before coming back to retire the side, including a game-ending strikeout of pinch-hitting Riley Adams.
No sweat, right?
With the victory, the Phillies climbed back above .500 (54-53) and inched to within two games of the division-leading New York Mets, who were trailing in Miami. A Mets loss would leave the Phillies closer to first place than at any time since May 25, when they were 1½ games back.
Girardi believes strongly in rules for reliever usage. He doesn’t like to use them on back-to-back-to-back days, with Bradley becoming the first Phillies reliever this season to pitch three consecutive days. Kennedy, still a relative novice reliever after moving into the role in 2019 with Kansas City, has never gone three days in a row before. Girardi likely won’t push him yet.
But Girardi also knows when to relax his rules. The final six weeks of a pennant race is the time to take off the training wheels.
“When you get to closer to September, yeah,” Girardi said. “And it’s going to be with the guys that have done it. A guy that’s done it in the past, you know that his body knows how to respond to it and he probably knows all the warning signs. Sometimes when you use them like that, it’s not that they can’t do it. It’s that their stuff isn’t as sharp.”
Bradley’s stuff on Monday night was actually the sharpest it has been. He touched 97 mph and got a critical late-inning double play in the Phillies’ eventual 7-5 victory.
“I said, ‘If I pitch you today, does it mean it’s going to go up another mile and hour?’” Girardi said. “I’ll throw him every day if that’s the case.”
Girardi wasn’t certain before the game if Neris would be able to pitch after getting six outs Monday night in relief of Ranger Suarez. But Neris offered to get a few outs. Wheeler exited after giving up the one-out homer to Bell, and after putting the tying run on base by walking Yadiel Hernandez, Neris got Carter Kieboom to foul out and struck out Luis Garcia.
A Bryce bomb
It has been three seasons since Harper played his home games at Nationals Park, yet he still has hit the second-most homers here. No. 98 came in the eighth inning and turned out to be the difference in the game.
As he crossed home plate, Harper blew kisses and waved to the booing Nationals fans.
Powered by vanilla?
Segura crushed the first pitch of the game — and took a long look as it sailed into the left-field bleachers — for his 12th career leadoff home run and third in 25 games atop the order this season.
But social media was still buzzing about his at-bat in the ninth inning Monday night.
As Segura dug in against Nationals reliever Wander Suero, a television microphone captured a fan shouting, “Segura, what’s your favorite ice cream?” Without breaking focus, Segura yelled back, “Vanilla,” before lining a game-tying double in the gap in right-center field.
Slugging spark plug
Girardi likes to joke that he has been a witness to every home run hit by Torreyes in the major leagues. Until this year, it wasn’t a terribly long list.
In 639 plate appearances from 2015-20, Torreyes went deep four times, all with the New York Yankees when Girardi was his manager. In 191 plate this season, the 5-foot-8 utility infielder has five homers, including a two-run shot against Corbin in the seventh inning.
Torreyes has been the Phillies’ unsung hero. And with Didi Gregorius still feeling the effects of ongoing treatment for pseudogout, a rare condition that caused painful swelling of his right elbow, Torreyes figures to continue to get starts at shortstop, especially against left-handed pitchers.
