The Phillies’ bullpen woes continued Sunday as they recorded their sixth blown save of the season—the most in Major League Baseball. What should have been a comfortable win turned into a painful 7-5 extra-innings loss to the Marlins.
Philadelphia held a solid 4-1 lead heading into the seventh inning and still led 4-2 in the eighth. But once again, the relief corps couldn’t slam the door shut.
Nearly a month into the season, it’s clear the Phillies have a bullpen problem.
They currently rank 29th in bullpen ERA, better than only the Washington Nationals. That’s not exactly the company you want to keep.
The numbers tell a troubling story. Of the eight relievers who’ve pitched at least seven innings this season, only three have an ERA+ above 100 (league average): closer José Alvarado and fellow lefties Matt Strahm and Tanner Banks.
The other four? They’re performing at least 30% below league average.
When it comes to relievers, timing is everything. Giving up runs always hurts, but it’s devastating when they come in close games late in the action.
Philadelphia’s bullpen has racked up the 10th most “meltdowns” in baseball—a stat that measures how much a reliever hurts his team’s chances of winning in crucial situations.
Four relievers—Orion Kerkering, Jordan Romano, Joe Ross, and José Ruiz—have combined for 10 meltdowns compared to just 8 “shutdowns” (the positive version of the stat). That’s a real problem considering Kerkering, Ross, and Romano are three of the five most-used relievers in high-pressure situations.
“I don’t,” manager Rob Thomson told reporters before Sunday’s game when asked if he felt the bullpen was a problem. “Because it’s still a small sample size. I know we have really good arms. Really good stuff out there. We just have to keep working at it and keep grinding through it.”
Thomson has a point. Bullpens are notoriously streaky, with extreme highs and lows magnified by small sample sizes.
But there are some genuinely concerning trends with three key relievers:
• Orion Kerkering, the 24-year-old who had been so dominant (career 163 ERA+), was the culprit on Sunday. He gave up three runs on three hits—including a homer—and a walk. His signature sweeper doesn’t have the same depth as last year, batters are making more contact, and their OPS against him has jumped by 165 points.
• Jordan Romano, signed to a one-year deal after making two All-Star teams as Toronto’s closer, hasn’t found his groove. His velocity is down, and his slider isn’t fooling hitters like it used to.
• Joe Ross, in his first full season as a reliever, hasn’t seen the typical velocity bump that comes with moving to the bullpen. Even worse, he’s relying on a sinker that has generated just one swing-and-miss on 26 attempts. That’s not gonna cut it.
The good news? Bullpens can turn around quickly.
These pitchers could figure things out tomorrow and suddenly become unhittable. The Phillies could also make changes through trades, waiver claims, or promotions—though that last option is tricky since only Banks and Kerkering have minor-league options remaining.
There’s plenty of time between now and October to get the bullpen right.
For now, though, it’s the messy relief pitching that’s keeping the Phillies from sitting atop the National League East.
