Jhoan Duran hadn’t even recorded an out. Four pitches into the ninth inning Friday night, in a game the Phillies were leading 6–2, the closer they just imported from Minnesota found himself flat on his back, writhing in pain.
The sound came first — the crack of Paul DeJong’s line drive. Then came the sight — the ball caroming off the outer part of Duran’s right ankle at 94.1 miles per hour. He bent over, hobbled toward the foul line, then froze. Trainers rushed out. The bullpen got busy. The big right-hander, suddenly unable to put weight on that foot, sat down and climbed aboard the Nationals Park bullpen cart.
For a team with October on its mind, it looked like a nightmare in real time.
The good news arrived not long after: X-rays were negative. Scott Lauber of the Inquirer reported that Duran even walked away from the imaging room on his own power. Still, his status won’t be known until further evaluation Saturday.
It was a cruel twist for a pitcher who has been nearly untouchable since arriving at the deadline. Duran is 4-for-4 in save chances with Philadelphia, owns a 1.86 ERA, and has stabilized the back end of a bullpen built for October. He was even throwing in a non-save spot, pitching for the first time in four days.
In his absence, it fell to David Robertson — yes, that David Robertson — to finish the job. He yielded a double to Luis GarcÃa Jr. that put two men in scoring position, then calmly retired the next three hitters to lock down a skid-snapping win.
The lineup gave him breathing room earlier. In the seventh, Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper delivered a back-to-back lightning bolt off Konnor Pilkington. Schwarber got a hanging slider and pulverized it into the right-field upper deck for a go-ahead three-run shot — his 43rd homer of the year. Harper followed by sending one just over the center-field wall.
That’s how the Phillies ended their three-game losing streak, 6–2. But the story of the night wasn’t about the streak or even the homers. It was about a closer who looked indestructible, suddenly wincing in pain on the mound.
Because if the Phillies are going to do the October dance they’ve been choreographing all summer, they’ll need Jhoan Duran leading the final act.
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