Saturday night, he finally looked like him.
Painter delivered the finest start of his young major-league career, working seven innings and striking out eight as the Phillies overwhelmed the Cardinals, 12-3, at Citizens Bank Park for their eighth consecutive victory.
And for once, the final score wasn’t the most interesting number.
There were 20 swings and misses. There were first-pitch strikes to 22 of the 27 batters Painter faced. There were zero walks. And there was the 99.6 mph fastball he unleashed on his 100th pitch — the hardest pitch he has thrown in the majors.
That is the version of Painter the Phillies have been trying to uncover all season.
“You can't ask for much better than that,” interim manager Don Mattingly said. “If he turns into something like that, then it's a monster.”
The Phillies hardly needed a monster on this night.
They battered St. Louis starter Quinn Mathews for seven runs and 10 hits in five innings, scored three times in the first and four more in the third, then turned the rest of the evening into something resembling an extended celebration.
Every Phillies starter had at least one hit.
Kyle Schwarber walked to open the first and Trea Turner followed with a single. After Mathews retired Bryce Harper and J.T. Realmuto, Alec Bohm — one night removed from his walk-off triple in the 10th inning — shot an RBI single into left.
Bohm keeps hitting.
Edmundo Sosa followed with a two-run double and suddenly it was 3-0 before Painter had broken a sweat.
The Phillies buried the Cardinals two innings later. Bohm, Sosa and Luis Arraez opened the third with consecutive singles before Bryan De La Cruz drove home two with another single. Realmuto delivered a sacrifice fly and Derek Hill doubled home another run.
Seven runs. Ten hits through three innings.
No home runs required.
That has become an interesting wrinkle during this Phillies surge. A lineup built around Schwarber and Harper has spent much of its eight-game winning streak manufacturing offense in ways that don’t require watching the baseball disappear beyond an outfield wall.
On Saturday, Philadelphia already had eight runs before Harper supplied its first homer.
His three-run shot in the sixth — No. 26 this season and No. 389 of his career — turned an 8-1 game into an 11-1 rout. Schwarber added his major-league-leading 38th homer in the eighth against position player Pedro Pagés.
But everything kept coming back to Painter.
He entered the season carrying expectations uncommon for a rookie and then spent much of the first half providing reminders of how difficult pitching in the major leagues can be.
When the Phillies demoted him to Triple-A in June, Painter was 1-8 with a 7.06 ERA.
Since returning July 31, he owns a 3.62 ERA across five starts. Saturday marked the Phillies’ third consecutive victory in a game started by Painter after they had won only one of his previous 14 outings.
There may be no more meaningful development for this team over the final five weeks.
The fastball mattered Saturday, but so did everything around it.
Painter generated six whiffs with his changeup, five with the four-seamer, four with the sweeper, three with the slider and two with the curveball. The changeup — a pitch he leaned into during his Triple-A stint — gave hitters another speed and shape to account for and helped the fastball play the way the Phillies always believed it could.
Then came the seventh.
An error by Turner left runners at second and third with one out. Painter struck out Jimmy Crooks, battled Blaze Jordan and reached back for 99.6 mph on pitch No. 100.
Jordan eventually grounded toward third, where Sosa made a sliding stop and throw to end the inning.
Painter pumped his fists as he left the mound to a standing ovation.
“I didn't want to walk off that mound with anything left in the tank,” Painter said.
That might have been the most encouraging part.
Not simply the velocity. Not simply the eight strikeouts. Not even seven innings of one-run baseball.
It was the presence of it all.
The Phillies improved to 72-58 and moved within three games of first-place Atlanta in the National League East. An eight-game winning streak has changed the complexion of their season.
And a pitcher who once seemed like one of their biggest October questions suddenly looks capable of becoming something considerably more useful.
Maybe even an answer.
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