Welcome to the latest edition of the Phillies Beat Newsletter. This version was written by Paul Casella, who has been based in Philadelphia since 2019 and covers the team alongside Todd Zolecki. |
Orion Kerkering reached a milestone when he recorded his first career save in Monday night's 5-2 win over the Marlins. “I was shocked, to tell you the truth,” manager Rob Thomson said of learning it was Kerkering’s first save. "He pitched great." Save No. 1 was just the latest in a long stretch of much-needed solid outings from Kerkering. The 24-year-old righty has not allowed an earned run in 17 straight appearances dating to May 9. He has recorded seven holds and two wins during that stretch, but Monday's 1-2-3 ninth inning marked his first career save. “It feels great,” Kerkering said. “Just to be able to continue the stretch I’m on right now [since] the beginning of May, and just kind of keep it rolling and not overthink the situation. I think that’s what’s most important.” It’s certainly most important to the Phillies' bullpen. |
The Phillies have been in desperate need of relief help for most of this season, but especially since José Alvarado was suspended 80 games for a PED violation on May 18. Kerkering has been the one to step up the most, going 12 2/3 innings without allowing an earned run since Alvarado's suspension. Kerkering answering the call has been all the more important with Jordan Romano running into some trouble of late. After posting a 13.50 ERA in his first 11 appearances, Romano seemed to have righted the ship when he rattled off nine straight scoreless appearances from April 27-May 22, during which he had 13 K's and just one walk over nine innings. But he has a 6.75 ERA in nine appearances since, allowing at least one run in four of those nine appearances. So on Monday, Romano was called on for the seventh inning. After he tossed a scoreless frame, Thomson turned to Matt Strahm to face the top of the order in the eighth. That left Kerkering to tackle the all-important final three outs in the ninth, which he breezed through on 12 pitches.
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A reliable bullpen arm since debuting late in 2023, Kerkering now has a 2.36 ERA in 100 career appearances. Though he was expected to take on a more significant role this season, it was reasonable to assume he’d be the No. 4 option behind Alvarado, Strahm and Romano. Between Alvarado’s suspension and Romano’s struggles, Kerkering suddenly finds himself as one of the club’s top two relievers -- and its most consistent right-handed option. Now, he still has areas in which he can improve. Kerkering has allowed eight of his 21 inherited runners (38.1%) to score this season, including three of his past five during this streak of scoreless appearances. He’s allowed at least one inherited runner to score in more than half of the outings he’s entered with a runner on base (seven of 13). |
Even aside from the inherited runners, Kerkering has allowed 17 baserunners (nine hits, seven walks and one hit-by-pitch) over 15 1/3 innings during his 17-game streak of not allowing an earned run. Overall, Kerkering's 1.36 WHIP might not be what a team is looking for out of a high-leverage reliever, but his run prevention over the past month is hard to ignore. The Phillies will almost certainly be seeking at least one reliever ahead of next month’s Trade Deadline, but Kerkering will have every opportunity in the meantime to seize a more significant role at the back of the ‘pen. So far, so good. |
MLB.com reporter Justin Morris contributed to this story from Miami. |
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MLB MORNING LINEUP PODCAST |
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Kerkering became the seventh Phillies player to record a save this season. Which of the following pitchers has not recorded at least one save? A. Taijuan Walker
B. Max Lazar
C. Tanner Banks
D. Joe Ross |
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The Phillies’ stars need some help to get to Atlanta. With the first update of the 2025 PRO SPIRIT MLB All-Star Ballot coming out this past Monday, the Phils did not have a single player in position to advance out of Phase 1 of the voting, which ends at noon ET on June 26. The top two vote-getters at every position, and the top six outfielders, will advance to Phase 2. Trea Turner is the only Phillie in the top-3 at his respective position, checking in third (348,053 votes) at shortstop behind Francisco Lindor (1,019,273) and Mookie Betts (597,188). Kyle Schwarber is fourth at DH, Bryce Harper is fourth at first base, J.T. Realmuto is fourth at catcher and Alec Bohm is fifth among third basemen. Fans can vote as many as five times per every 24-hour period exclusively at MLB.com, on all 30 MLB club sites and on the MLB app. |
NEW AWARD HONORS HALLADAY |
Wyatt Rudden was named the winner of the inaugural Roy Halladay Award -- a new honor given to the top high-school senior baseball player in Colorado. (Halladay grew up in the Denver area, starring at Arvada West High School.) The award -- based on on-field performance, academic achievements and contributions to the community -- was developed over the past few months. A 14-member committee selected Rudden, who had a 4.3 GPA while helping lead Cherry Creek High School to a state title, as the first recipient. He plans to play collegiately at the University of Michigan. Rudden will receive his award at a June 27 banquet in downtown Denver, where Halladay’s father, Roy Halladay Sr., will present him with his award. |
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D. Joe Ross Kerkering, Walker, Banks and Lazar all have one save, while Romano leads the team with eight, followed by Alvarado (seven) and Strahm (four). |
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