The Phillies finally received the type of start they had been searching for from Andrew Painter.
They wasted it anyway.
Painter delivered six encouraging innings in his return to the major leagues, but Philadelphia’s bullpen surrendered four runs in the seventh as the Phillies fell, 6-4, to the Baltimore Orioles on Friday night at Camden Yards.
The loss was Philadelphia’s fourth straight and its 10th in 13 games since the All-Star break, dropping the club to 57-53.
What began as a promising night instead became another example of why president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski faces such a complicated assignment before Monday’s trade deadline.
For six innings, Painter appeared capable of easing at least one concern.
The Phillies gave him an immediate two-run lead when Bryce Harper lined an RBI single and Brandon Marsh brought home another run with a groundout in the first.
Baltimore answered almost instantly. Dylan Beavers doubled before Pete Alonso drove a two-run homer to left, tying the game before Painter recorded an out.
Instead of unraveling, Painter settled in.
The 23-year-old retired 17 of the final 21 hitters he faced and completed six innings while allowing two runs on three hits. He struck out six and walked three in his first major-league start since June 17.
Painter had been optioned to Triple-A after posting a 7.06 ERA across his first 14 appearances, but his return offered a much different picture.
Trea Turner restored the lead with a solo homer in the third, and J.T. Realmuto added another in the sixth to put the Phillies ahead, 4-2.
Painter departed with the lead and a chance to earn his second major-league victory.
The bullpen never gave him that chance.
Orion Kerkering allowed a one-out single to Jackson Holliday and walked Colton Cowser before pinch-hitter Christian Encarnacion-Strand drove a two-run double into the left-center-field gap. Kerkering then hit Alonso with an 0-2 pitch, prompting interim manager Don Mattingly to call for left-hander Tim Mayza.
Gunnar Henderson greeted Mayza by pulling a sinker into the right-center-field gap for a two-run triple. In a matter of minutes, a two-run Phillies lead had become a two-run deficit.
Baltimore’s bullpen handled the rest. Anthony Nunez, Yennier Cano and Tyler Wells combined to keep Philadelphia scoreless over the final three innings, with Wells retiring the side in order in the ninth.
“It pisses me off a lot,” Kerkering told reporters afterward. “I just gotta figure it out.”
The frustration is understandable, but the problem extends beyond one difficult inning. Philadelphia’s bullpen owns a 5.61 ERA since June 9 and has blown three saves in the last four games. A unit that had been one of the club’s relative strengths has become another source of uncertainty at the worst possible time.
“This is not the brand of baseball we want to be playing,” Realmuto said.
That has become increasingly obvious.
The Phillies entered Baltimore after being swept in Miami and needed Painter’s return to provide both stability and hope. He supplied both.
The offense produced four runs, hit two homers and handed the bullpen a lead.
It still was not enough.
With the trade deadline arriving Monday at 6 p.m., Dombrowski’s list remains long. The Phillies need bullpen help, another dependable starting option and a right-handed bat.
Painter’s performance may have reduced the urgency surrounding the rotation, but the seventh inning made another need impossible to ignore.
The Phillies are no longer dealing with an isolated slump. Their margin for error is shrinking, their bullpen is wobbling and a season built around October expectations continues to drift in the wrong direction.
