The Phillies spent the trade deadline betting that Andrew Painter could stabilize the back of their rotation.
Two days later, that bet came with a limp.
Painter departed after four innings with tightness in his left hamstring, Bryce Harper remained on the ground after an awkward slide, and Derek Hill crashed violently into the center-field wall during the Phillies’ 10-4, 11-inning loss to the Washington Nationals on Wednesday night at Citizens Bank Park.
The scoreboard showed a six-run defeat. The three injury scares created the more lasting concern.
None carried greater roster implications than Painter’s.
The rookie allowed one run on three hits, struck out four and walked one over 63 pitches. After surrendering an RBI single in the first, Painter recovered and began giving the Phillies exactly what they needed from their fifth starter.
His night ended before he could finish the job.
Painter first felt discomfort when his foot caught in the dirt as he spun toward first base following a 96 mph strikeout pitch to Daylen Lile in the opening inning. He continued pitching, but the hamstring tightened as the game progressed. The Phillies removed him after the fourth rather than risk a more significant injury.
“Obviously, we’re going to be careful there and get him out of there,” interim manager Don Mattingly told reporters after the contest.
Painter remained optimistic afterward.
“I don’t think it’s going to be anything too serious,” Painter said.
The Phillies will hope Thursday’s evaluation supports that belief. Even a brief absence, however, would expose a weakness the front office knowingly carried beyond Monday’s deadline.
Philadelphia explored the starting-pitching market but did not complete a deal, even as roughly 15 starters changed teams. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski acknowledged being somewhat concerned about the organization’s rotation depth, but the Phillies decided that an acquisition needed to be a clear upgrade over Painter.
Any addition, Dombrowski said, would have needed to be “significantly better, in our opinion, than Andrew.”
That judgment was defensible if Painter continued the progress he displayed in Baltimore and again Wednesday. It becomes considerably harder to manage if he cannot take his next turn.
Painter entered the season with immense expectations but was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on June 17 after recording a 7.06 ERA through his first 14 major-league appearances. He made five starts in the minors before returning to the Phillies’ rotation just before the deadline. His improved fastball shape and growing confidence in his changeup offered reason to believe the reset had worked.
Now the Phillies may need a contingency plan they did not acquire.
Painter’s early departure forced the bullpen to cover seven innings. Philadelphia built a 2-1 advantage behind Luis Arraez’s second-inning home run and Justin Crawford’s sacrifice fly, but Washington moved ahead in the seventh. Bryson Stott tied the game with an RBI single before both teams scored in the 10th.
Harper produced the night’s second scare when he attempted to steal second with two outs in the bottom of the 10th. He was thrown out and remained down while holding his right hand or wrist after it became trapped beneath him.
“He said his hand just kind of got stuck when he went to slide,” Mattingly said.
Harper stayed in the game, an encouraging sign considering his importance to an offense that has struggled for consistency. Still, any uncertainty surrounding the centerpiece of the Phillies’ lineup demands attention.
The most frightening moment followed in the 11th.
Hill raced back on CJ Abrams’ drive and collided at full speed with the center-field wall. Abrams reached third with a go-ahead, two-run triple while Hill remained on the warning track for several minutes.
Hill eventually walked off with assistance. The initial diagnosis was a right shoulder contusion, although Mattingly said the Phillies were checking him for additional injuries.
“You hit a wall like that, it’s not too forgiving,” Mattingly said.
Washington added four more runs after the collision, turning a close game into a rout. By then, the loss had become almost incidental.
The Phillies can recover from one ugly inning. They can replace one loss in the standings. Replacing Harper, Hill or Painter would be far more difficult.
Painter’s status is especially revealing. Philadelphia passed on the available starting pitchers because it believed the rookie deserved the fifth spot.
For four innings Wednesday, Painter looked capable of proving the Phillies right.
The hamstring tightness that ended his night also showed how quickly their deadline calculation could go wrong.
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