Phillies takeaways: Mick Abel's place in rotation, outfield slugging, Seth Johnson impresses

New York Times

03-07-2025

PHILADELPHIA — There were no runs on the scoreboard, two outs, and Mick Abel had San Diego's No. 9 hitter in an 0-2 count. It was the second inning in the first game of Wednesday's doubleheader.
He threw Padres catcher Elias Díaz an elevated fastball for ball one. He bounced a curveball. He fired a slider that was a ball out of hand. He countered with a fastball that was even higher than the one before it.
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That was the beginning of the end.
'I got in some leverage counts and was trying too hard to make the pitches, if that makes sense,' Abel said. 'Just not naturally letting it happen.'
Two more walks and a double later, the 23-year-old rookie righty had experienced his harshest big-league lesson yet. Abel is the fifth starter in a rotation that has carried the Phillies to the Fourth of July. The Phillies have seen some good — against Pittsburgh, Toronto and Miami — and some bad against tougher lineups. But, before Wednesday's 6-4 loss, Abel was at least attacking hitters. He did not walk a batter in his first two big-league starts. He wasn't missing as many bats in recent outings, but at least he was competitive.
Five walks in 1 2/3 innings — the first Phillies starter to do that since Garrett Stephenson in 1998 — will only prompt larger questions about where Abel fits. The Phillies expect Aaron Nola to return in August, with the possibility of him throwing from a mound as early as this weekend. They have always targeted 'July-ish' for top prospect Andrew Painter, but have indicated they would rather wait until after the All-Star break.
The Phillies need one more start from the No. 5 slot before the break (Tuesday at San Francisco). They could give it to Abel. They could replace him on the roster with a reliever, go with a bigger bullpen until the break, and do a bullpen game in San Francisco. Or they could summon another starter. Maybe the Painter plans change. Probably not.
'We'll talk about it,' Phillies manager Rob Thomson said when asked about Abel's next start.
At times in the minors, Abel had trouble preventing the big inning. Things spiraled too fast. He could not avoid it against San Diego. 'He was kind of missing all over the place,' catcher J.T. Realmuto said. Thomson needed to cover 18 innings Wednesday, so he let Abel go a batter or two longer than he normally might have.
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'It's not easy,' Realmuto said. 'I mean, there's a lot of pressure in that situation. So you just try to calm them down and slow things down for them a little bit. Mick's obviously got great stuff. But sometimes it's not easy to come into this scenario and be successful right away. He's done a great job for us. That's just part of the growing pains of being a young pitcher.'
All of that will factor into the club's decision about next week.
Moments after the first game ended, Thomson pulled Brandon Marsh aside for a dugout chat. Marsh explained why he risked making the game's 27th out at third base with the potential winning run coming to the plate in Kyle Schwarber. He knew his run didn't matter, so he figured he could go first to third because center fielder Jackson Merrill would lob the ball to second base to prevent Trea Turner, the tying run, from zooming into scoring position.
It was sound thinking — except Marsh had to know there wouldn't be a play at third. He miscalculated. Merrill made a strong throw. Marsh was called out, but a replay review showed he beat the tag. Barely.
'Probably wasn't the best decision to go there, to be honest,' Marsh said. 'But I got away with it.'
In the end, the play didn't matter. Schwarber struck out. A lesson, maybe, for Marsh. He started in the second game, a 5-1 Phillies win, and launched a solo homer to center.
He's raised his season slash line to .262/.333/.384.
'I like the way that I'm attacking,' Marsh said. 'Definitely can improve a lot more on a lot of things. But, for what it's worth, I like where I'm at personally.'
The Phillies are off Thursday, then will face a lefty starter Friday and Saturday. Marsh probably won't play. Neither will Max Kepler, who also homered in Wednesday's nightcap.
Got the Maximum height on this one pic.twitter.com/zzdbQR5D1j
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) July 2, 2025
It marked the first time the Phillies had two homers from their outfield in a game since March 31 — the fourth game of the season.
This homer was Kepler's first extra-base hit in 50 plate appearances (since June 16). He should have had one earlier in the week, but Merrill made a spectacular catch to rob him of a three-run homer.
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That was the second time this season a center fielder has taken back a potential Kepler three-run homer.
Without those plays, he'd have a .718 OPS for the season instead of his .685. Either way, the Phillies need more from Kepler, who hasn't had a consistent power stroke. He's hit the ball harder than last season and doubled his walk rate. However, many of the underlying metrics are unfavorable to Kepler.
The Phillies will see it through, for now.
This was Seth Johnson's third big-league appearance, and he's had a large gap between each one. So, when he caught Trenton Brooks looking, on a curveball, for his first strikeout in the majors, he did not think to throw the baseball out of play to preserve the keepsake.
'I forgot,' Johnson said.
The rookie was just happy for another chance to make an impression. It was a good one. He was summoned for a day as the 27th man permitted in doubleheader rules. He tossed two scoreless innings in Wednesday's first game with two strikeouts. His fastball almost touched 100 mph. He threw some decent curveballs and changeups along with his slider.
'He was really good,' Thomson said. 'I mean, really good. Throwing strikes. He broke out that curveball, and it's sharp. It's a swing-and-miss pitch. So there's a lot of things we have to talk about.'
It didn't take the Phillies long; they sent Johnson back to Triple A after the doubleheader ended.
The Phillies' search for competent relief continues; more swing-and-miss stuff would help. They entered Wednesday's doubleheader with one reliever among the top 50 (of 174 qualified relievers) in strikeout rate. That was Jordan Romano at 27.3 percent. Matt Strahm ranked 58th, Tanner Banks 73rd and Orion Kerkering 107th. Last season, the Phillies had two relievers — Strahm and Jeff Hoffman — who ranked in the top 15 in strikeout rate. Kerkering was 32nd.
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They are desperate for some whiffs.
Johnson didn't exactly feature that; he had only three swings-and-misses in his 33 pitches. San Diego did not swing-and-miss at any of the 18 fastballs he fired, although the pitch sat 98.6 mph and topped at 99.8 mph. Maybe that's why the Phillies opted not to keep him around.
'That's actually the first time I've gotten to catch him,' Realmuto said. 'I was impressed with his stuff. It was really good.'
As far as stuff goes, Kerkering showed some of his best in Wednesday's second game. He struck out two Padres in a scoreless inning. His four-seam fastball averaged 98.8 mph — the hardest it's been in an outing all season.
Kerkering has allowed one earned run over his last 22 appearances, dating back to May 9.