MIAMI -- Seranthony Domínguez looked back at his first few times on the mound in August and smiled.
“I forgot how to pitch,” he said Saturday afternoon at loanDepot park. “I completely forgot. The way that you stepped on the mound. You move a little forward, or back, on the rubber. It takes time. That’s the rehab process.”
The Phillies recalled Domínguez from Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Saturday. He has not pitched in the big leagues since June 5, 2019, because of an injured right elbow that ultimately required Tommy John surgery. He started to pitch competitively again on Aug. 3, when he made an appearance with High-A Jersey Shore. He struggled early, posting a combined 11.57 ERA in his first 14 appearances with Jersey Shore, Double-A Reading and Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
But in his last nine appearances with the IronPigs, Domínguez has a 2.61 ERA, striking out 12 and walking six in 10 1/3 innings.
He is not where he wants to be, but he is getting there.
“I’m happy to be back,” Domínguez said. “I know I can’t help this year, but I’m here.”
Domínguez pitched on Friday with Lehigh Valley, so he will not pitch Saturday. But Phillies manager Joe Girardi said Domínguez will pitch in Sunday’s season finale against the Marlins.
“It would mean a lot,” Domínguez said.
“Seranthony’s worked really hard to get to this point,” Girardi said. “We think it’s good for him with what he’s done to be back.”
Domínguez should be in play to make the Phillies’ Opening Day roster in 2022. The organization will look to improve a bullpen that tied a Major League record with 34 blown saves. Ian Kennedy, Archie Bradley, Héctor Neris, Cam Bedrosian and Matt Moore are set to become free agents. In that group, Neris is the most likely to return. Behind Neris, there are relievers like José Alvarado, Connor Brogdon and Sam Coonrod.
Then, maybe Domínguez.
“Of course I’m excited,” Domínguez said about next spring. “They’ve got the confidence to bring me here.”
Domínguez said his fastball is in the 96-97 mph range. He said he likes the movement on his slider.
“Sometimes it doesn’t work the way you want it to work, but the days it’s working it’s great,” he said.
Crouse gains experience, confidence
Phillies right-hander Hans Crouse allowed three runs in four innings in a 3-1 loss to the Marlins on Saturday night. He gave up a three-run home run to Jazz Chisholm Jr. in the third.
Crouse is the Phillies’ No. 4 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline. He is expected to enter next spring as starting pitching depth.
“It’s a great learning experience, just being around all these guys,” Crouse said. “Getting to talk to [Andrew] Knapp, [J.T.] Realmuto. Getting to talk to [Aaron] Nola, [Zack] Wheeler, seeing how they go about their work in their bullpens and all that kind of stuff. I’ve just been trying to be a sponge up here and pick and choose the right time to ask certain guys questions, because we were in the middle of a pennant race when I was up.”
So what’s been the best thing he’s heard?
“I think the biggest thing is guys telling me that I’m here for a reason,” Crouse said. “'You got called up for a reason. And just have that belief in yourself that your stuff is good enough to get guys out in the strike zone. Just trust it. Just be yourself out there.' That’s been the biggest thing. I do things a little bit differently than most, and so I didn’t quite know the reaction I was going to get when I came up here. But J.T. told me, ‘Hey, man, just be yourself out there. I want to see that competitive edge and fire that I’ve heard about.’”
Extra bases
• The Phillies placed Brogdon on the 10-day injured list with right groin tightness. Brogdon just left the IL with the same injury, although Girardi said it is not nearly as severe.
“He still feels it a little bit,” Girardi said. “In fact, if we’d still been alive, I think we would have asked him to fight through it. But we don’t want him to tweak it and waste weeks of the offseason.”
• Alec Bohm started at third base for the first time since he was optioned to Triple-A in August. He singled and struck out twice. Matt Vierling also started in center field, and he hit an RBI single in the fifth.
“I want to see Alec and I want to see Vier,” Girardi said. “I want to see them do their thing.”