PHILADELPHIA _ Bryan Price, the Phillies' pitching coach, left the dugout Friday night after Ronald Acuna Jr. flipped his bat and jogged to first base after working a five-pitch walk.
Jake Arrieta had avoided trouble through the first five innings of a 5-0 win, but now the Braves had runners on first and second with no outs in the sixth as the right-hander tried to navigate their lineup for a third-time. Up to that point, Arrieta looked sharp.
But with his pitch count climbing, his night would be defined by how he handled his adversity in the sixth. His meeting with Price finished, Arrieta threw a first-pitch sinker that Dansby Swanson lined to Didi Gregorius for a smooth double play. Freddie Freeman then battled Arrieta for eight pitches before lining out to Jay Bruce, who charged to the left-center gap to end the inning.
The rally was extinguished nearly as fast as it started. Arrieta's night was finished with six strikeouts, one walk, and just three hits in six innings. He threw 89 pitches and generated six swings-and-misses. It was Arrieta's first scoreless start since 2018 and he looked sharper on Saturday night than he did anytime last season.
The Phillies know what they have at the top of their rotation with Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler. They have enough confidence that prospect Spencer Howard can hold his own in the rotation when he arrives on Sunday.
But they really did not know what to expect in Arrieta, the pitcher they signed two years ago for $75 million but was slowed last season by bone spurs in his elbow and has posted a league-average ERA over the first two seasons of a three-year contract.
If his first two starts are any indication, Arrieta could be a contributor this season. If so, it could be enough to put the Phillies into October as they would have a steady arm to follow Nola and Wheeler in a rotation capped by Howard and Zach Eflin.
The bullpen pieced together the final nine outs in a second-straight inspiring effort for a unit that started the season with trouble. Tommy Hunter recorded four outs and his average fastball velocity improved to 93.7 mph after sitting at 91.2 mph on Wednesday night. Jose Alvarez and Deolis Guerra combined for the other five outs.
The Phillies scored four of their five runs in the fourth inning as J.T. Realmuto homered and Bruce hit a three-run shot. Realmuto's homer was his fourth in seven games as he begins the truncated 2020 season on a much faster pace than last year. Realmuto needed 26 games to hit four homers in 2019.
Once again, his homer on Saturday was celebrated by Bryce Harper acting like he's signing a check as the fans outside Ashburn Alley chanted "Sign J.T.!" Saturday was just the eighth game of the season, but it's been enough of a reminder of how important Realmuto is to the team's playoff chances. He's arguably their best hitter and is the game's premier defensive catcher. But the eighth game of the season also provided a glimpse into how important Arrieta _ the pitcher Realmuto caught _ can be to the team's postseason hopes.
