Despite his delayed start due to a right shoulder impingement, the right-hander demonstrated his resilience, navigating through a couple of challenging three-run innings.
Walker maintained an average velocity of 91.1 mph with his four-seam fastball, consistent with his Minor League rehab performances but slightly down by 1.7 mph compared to last season.
Notably, Walker employed his splitter sparingly, throwing only 12 on the afternoon.
Looking ahead, Manager Rob Thomson confirmed that Spencer Turnbull will receive another opportunity to start on Tuesday in Anaheim. Turnbull was briefly displaced from the rotation to accommodate Walker's return, but the schedule this week will allow for Thomson to deploy a six-man rotation.
As for Turnbull's role moving forward, it's likely the Phillies will utilize him as a long reliever, although this would be a new responsibility for him, bringing some uncertainty about his guaranteed usage.
However, with the team facing a stretch of 19 games in the span of 20 days in mid-May, there's speculation that Turnbull may transition back into the rotation for a spot start.
Thomson will need to get creative in managing Turnbull's role and workload moving forward.
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To make room for Walker, the Phillies designated righty reliever Ricardo Pinto for assignment.
The 30-year-old struggled at the big league level, posting a 10.97 ERA and 8/5 K/BB ratio over six appearances.
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Fangraphs projects the Phillies to finish with a 90-72 record with a 6% chance of winning the World Series. The Braves remain the favorite to win the the NL East at 85% while the Phils sit at 13%.
The Braves are favorites to win the World Series at 22%.
The Yankees are the favorites to represent the American League, posting at 10% to win the World Series.
