Phillies new closer Jhoan Duran meets the moment in lights-out Citizens Bank Park debut

New York Times

5 days ago

PHILADELPHIA — The transformation began with the giant bell in the Citizens Bank Park outfield, turned from its typical City Connect teal to a flame-like orange. 'Phones Out! Lights On!' flashed on the scoreboard, animated spiders also appearing. Then a bell's toll, the dim of the lights, the roar of the crowd, the thump of a remix of 'El Incomprendido' by Farruko and 'Hot' by Pitbull and Daddy Yankee over the loudspeakers.
Advertisement
Jhoan Duran had arrived.
The ninth-inning entrance was not new to the newly acquired Phillies closer, who worked with Minnesota Twins officials to create it in 2022. The scene, a red-and-blue clad crowd on its feet with flashlights on, was.
He ran to the mound, the journey displayed on the ballpark scoreboard for all to see. Then Duran, who woke up at 3 a.m. in Minneapolis to catch a flight to Philadelphia on Friday, ended his day with a four-pitch save — all splinkers — for a 5-4 win against the Detroit Tigers.
'That was sick,' Brandon Marsh said.
'That's maybe one of the best entrances that I've seen for a pitcher coming into a game to close it out,' Ranger Suárez said.
'I still feel incredible,' Duran said. 'It's amazing.'
JHOAN DURAN IS HEREpic.twitter.com/papYMfAqIr
— Barstool Philly (@BarstoolPhilly) August 2, 2025
The Phillies, in their first game since the trade deadline, erased a three-run deficit for the first time since May 8 and the second time this season. Duran preserved the lead in the ninth. Their sought-after high-leverage arm, their first closer in several years, made his mark in his first appearance.
After being no-hit by Jack Flaherty for 4 2/3 innings, the Phillies had found something. An offense that had just one runner in scoring position until the seventh, drove in three of five base runners that inning.
There was a four-pitch walk in outfielder Harrison Bader's first plate appearance with Philadelphia that loaded the bases and had the ballpark roaring. Two at-bats later came a 105.3 mph single tugged to right field by Trea Turner to score a run, followed by Kyle Schwarber's 113.5 mph hit toward the right-field corner to tie the game 3-3.
'Everybody contributed in some way,' Phillies manager Rob Thomson said.
The lineup did. And so did the crowd. In the eighth inning, it could have been the post-deadline glow, or memories of Bader's first positive contribution to the Phillies or that Otto Kemp had just doubled down the third baseline to drive Nick Castellanos home to even things at 4-4 after the Tigers took back the lead on a solo homer.
Advertisement
Whatever it was, the feeling brought spectators to their feet with all eyes on Bader at the plate in the eighth. He struck out. The atmosphere remained raucous. Edmundo Sosa made it to first on a sinker out of the zone turned throwing error, then Bryson Stott outran a grounder to reach first while Kemp crossed home plate for the 5-4 lead. The cheers crashed over Citizens Bank Park.
Something felt different in the Phillies' late-game energy. There were good at-bats, back to back, and lots of movement on the basepaths. Fewer ground-outs, less stranding of runners. Down 3-0, the lineup had dug deep.
It is one game. There is some recency bias; an ending like Friday's can erase the issue of going 0-for-12 (with two walks) through four innings. But, by the end of the night, as fans sang along to 'High Hopes' and Duran high-fived his new teammates for the first time, there was decidedly a playoff-like feel to it all.
The postseason was front-and-center before the game, as clips of franchise legend Jimmy Rollins from 2008 played prior to his Wall of Fame induction. The Phillies lined the dugout rail and watched, then listened as Rollins told them that, if they're sick of hearing about the 2008 world championship, they should make their own moment.
That moment would come in October, but the foundation is laid in ebbs and flows during the season. A win like Friday's — solid starting pitching from Suárez, shutout stuff from Duran, the offense nabbing hit after hit — is a win that paves the way to October. If those traits appear in the postseason, they could make the difference.
It was 30 minutes after Duran left the mound, and the Phillies readied to head home. Taijuan Walker sat at his locker and whistled Duran's warm-up song. Duran overheard him and smiled. A few minutes later, Alec Bohm whistled it as he left the clubhouse.
Advertisement
'It's stuck in my head now,' Walker said.
An electric entrance and a shutdown Citizens Bank Park debut, and Duran fever is already spreading. After months of sorely needing another high-leverage arm, the Phillies have it. The club sits atop the National League East. Now comes the stretch run, retooled bullpen and lineup in tow.
— The Athletic's Matt Gelb contributed to this report.
(Top photo of Jhoan Duran: Caean Couto / Getty Images)