CHICAGO _ Jake Thompson threw a 90-mph fastball Tuesday night and watched it fly. Jose Abreu clobbered a two-run homer. Thompson, a 22-year-old rookie making his fourth career start, received a new ball. Twice, he tapped his left spike on the mound. He dug his right foot into the dirt.
Three pitches later, he allowed another home run.
This, a 9-1 loss to the White Sox, was yet another nightmare for Thompson. He could not throw strikes. When he did, they were meatballs. He has never looked settled during his first taste of the majors. It is a disconcerting feeling for one of the team's most-regarded prospects.
The Phillies did not envision immediate greatness from Thompson, a right-hander who profiles as a mid-rotation starter. But, rebuilding team or not, they have to question Thompson's current aptitude for a spot in the rotation.
Thompson's 9.78 ERA equals the mark through four starts that Alec Asher, another piece acquired in the Cole Hamels trade, posted last season. The worst ERA for a Phillies pitcher over his first four starts is Mike Maddux's 9.98 from 1986.
At Triple-A Lehigh Valley, Thompson was a pitcher with exemplary command. He walked 37 batters in 1292/3 innings pitched _ a rate of 2.6 per nine innings. That has jumped to 6.1 walks per nine innings in the majors.
He has as many walks (13) as strikeouts in his four big-league starts.
Thompson fell behind hitters all night. He fired first-pitch strikes to just 11 of the 25 batters he faced. He threw 20 pitches in the first inning, 13 of which were balls, and somehow allowed just one run.
Adam Eaton started it with a triple to left, a ball that Tyler Goeddel misjudged. A groundout scored Eaton. Thompson walked Melky Cabrera and Abreu, which prompted an uncharacteristic first-inning visit from pitching coach Bob McClure. Their conversation was brief. Thompson escaped with a double play on a comebacker.
In the third, a bunt single and triple plated another run. Thompson walked Cabrera. Again, McClure emerged from the dugout. The conversation, this time, was longer. Home plate umpire Jeff Kellogg sauntered toward the mound to end the talk. But McClure continued.
Thompson ended the third inning having thrown 33 strikes and 28 balls. In the fourth, he retired the White Sox in order; it was just the sixth time in 20 chances that Thompson tossed a 1-2-3 inning.
That sensation did not linger. He remained in the game after the back-to-back homers by Abreu and Justin Morneau, but the result was beyond clear. Thompson, a rookie whose future is unwritten even after four miserable starts, was resigned to again contemplate failure.
