CINCINNATI -- The Phillies have used 25 pitchers this year.
They’ll need more if they want to win in October.
It’s a must. The Phillies’ shorthandedness showed up in a major way in Wednesday night’s 11-5 loss to the Reds at Great American Ball Park.
Phillies right-hander Alan Rangel allowed three runs in 3 1/3 innings. The Phillies had planned for days to make Wednesday a bullpen game because they have nobody in the system who can be a true No. 5 starter while Andrew Painter tries to return to form in Triple-A Lehigh Valley. They recalled Rangel when they placed right-hander Lou Trivino on the injured list on Wednesday afternoon.
Rangel has a 4.19 ERA in 19 1/3 innings in five appearances. It’s respectable, but he has pitched four or fewer innings in four games, putting a considerable strain on the bullpen. Rangel allowed a game-tying two-run home run to Sal Stewart in the third inning. He allowed a go-ahead homer to Noelvi Marte to start the fourth.
Phillies left-hander Tanner Banks replaced him with one out in the fourth. Banks joined the Phillies on July 30, 2024, in a trade with the White Sox. He elevated his role last year. He had a 3.07 ERA in 69 appearances, earning then-manager Rob Thomson’s trust to pitch in more high-leverage situations down the stretch.
But this year has been a significant step backward. He got optioned on June 18, when he sported a 5.86 ERA.
The Phillies recalled him on Saturday. On Wednesday, he allowed three consecutive home runs to Elly De La Cruz, Stewart and JJ Bleday to give Cincinnati a 7-2 lead. Banks became the first Phillies pitcher to allow three consecutive homers in an inning since Mick Abel allowed three straight to Francisco Lindor, Brandon Nimmo and Juan Soto in the third inning against the Mets on June 21, 2025.
Before that? Kyle Gibson allowed four straight homers in the first inning against the Cardinals on July 2, 2022.
Banks walked off the mound with a 7.14 ERA.
Left-hander José Alvarado allowed four runs in the sixth to make it 11-4. He walked off the mound with a 7.03 ERA. Alvarado has the highest BABIP (.437) of any reliever in baseball (minimum 30 innings) in the past 50 years, so perhaps there is a hint of poor luck at play.
But Banks and Alvarado are two of only three pitchers in baseball with a 7.00 ERA or higher while making at least 25 appearances. If they would somehow remain in that stratosphere -- it seems almost impossible -- it would be the first time the Phillies have two relievers like that since Billy Brewer and Mike Grace in 1999.
They aren’t the only two Phillies lefty relievers struggling. They just optioned left-hander Kyle Backhus on Wednesday to make room for right-hander Max Lazar. Backhus had a 5.87 ERA in 17 appearances.
Alvarado, Banks and Backhus have a combined 6.84 ERA, a 1.82 WHIP and a .921 OPS against.
Thank goodness for lefty Tim Mayza, who has a 2.81 ERA in 36 appearances.