PHILADELPHIA -- For the second time in three days, the Phillies wasted a gem from their starting pitcher.
Rookie right-hander Andrew Painter turned in the longest outing of his young MLB career on Sunday afternoon, allowing just two runs across 6 1/3 innings. When the 23-year-old walked off the mound at Citizens Bank Park in the top of the seventh inning, he received a standing ovation.
But Painter had little else to show for his effort. Philadelphia succumbed to familiar struggles against left-handed pitching in a 3-1 loss to the Guardians, dropping the rubber game of the three-game set.
The Phillies received superb starting pitching in the first two games of the series. Cristopher Sánchez spun eight brilliant innings on Friday, followed by six spotless frames from Zack Wheeler on Saturday. Those are tough acts to follow. Not for Painter, at least not on this day.
He looked in control in his 10th Major League appearance, continuing what has been an upward trajectory of late. Remarkably efficient, Painter needed just 82 pitches (52 strikes) to record 19 outs. He relied heavily on his splitter -- typically his fifth pitch -- which he threw 23 times, the most splitters he’s thrown in a single outing in his career. Sunday marked the first time that Painter threw a pitch in the seventh inning in a game that he served as the starting pitcher.
Cleveland scratched across the game’s first run in the fifth inning when center fielder Steven Kwan dunked a base hit into left field, bringing home Daniel Schneemann. An inning later, old friend Rhys Hoskins laced a double down the left-field line to score Chase DeLauter. Both Schneemann and DeLauter reached base via a walk -- the only two walks that Painter issued on the day.
The Phillies could not crack Guardians left-hander Parker Messick, who entered the day with a 2.45 ERA that ranked 14th best among qualified pitchers. Philadelphia left eight runners on base across the first six innings, stranding a runner in each frame.
This is in line with what we have seen from the Phillies against left-handed pitching. Entering play on Sunday, Philadelphia’s .593 OPS against left-handed starters was the second lowest in the Majors, ahead of only the Mets.