The Phillies are once again anxiously watching Andrew Painter, though this time for a different concern.
The rookie right-hander looked on track for a second straight strong outing Wednesday night before a left hamstring issue forced him out early. Painter exited after four innings in what turned into a 10-4 loss to the Nationals, with the team later describing the injury as left hamstring tightness.
Despite the setback, Painter remains hopeful it isn’t anything serious. The Phillies plan to reevaluate him when he returns on Thursday.
He wasn’t the only injury concern for Philadelphia.
Outfielder Derek Hill was forced out in the 11th inning after crashing hard into the center-field wall while chasing a deep fly ball. He remained on the ground briefly before getting up and walking off under his own power alongside the team’s medical staff.
Hill is dealing with a right shoulder contusion, though interim manager Don Mattingly said the team is being cautious and “checking everything.”
“When you run into a wall like that, it’s not very forgiving,” Mattingly said. “We’ll take the night to evaluate him and see how he feels tomorrow.”
Just moments before Hill’s injury, Bryce Harper also gave the Phillies a scare. The star slugger appeared to hurt himself while sliding into second base on a caught stealing to end the 10th inning.
“He said his hand just kind of got caught during the slide,” Mattingly explained.
Harper, however, stayed in the game after being checked out by medical staff.
The string of injuries quickly overshadowed the game itself, which unraveled beginning with Hill’s play in the 11th. That moment led to a go-ahead two-run triple by CJ Abrams, sparking a rally in which Washington added four more runs to put the game out of reach.
Both teams exhausted their resources in the process. The Phillies used every available reliever, while the Nationals emptied their bench—and then some. With no position players left, Washington even called on Thursday’s scheduled starter, Miles Mikolas, to pinch-hit in the chaotic inning. He successfully laid down a sacrifice bunt, driving in a run and marking the first RBI by an opposing pitcher against the Phillies since September 23, 2021.
It was that kind of night for Philadelphia.
Painter’s injury appeared to originate in the first inning during a pitch to Nationals outfielder Daylen Lile. His foot seemed to stick in the mound as he followed through toward first base after throwing a 96 mph fastball for strike three.
“Obviously, he kept pitching for a couple more innings, but it started tightening up on him,” Mattingly said. “So we’re going to be cautious and get him out of there.”
Painter’s four-seam fastball averaged 95.6 mph in the outing, slightly below his season average of 96.6 mph.
The injury adds to what has already been a challenging stretch for the young pitcher, who was making just his second start since returning to the rotation last Friday in Baltimore.
Despite beginning the season in the Phillies’ Opening Day rotation following years of anticipation as one of the organization’s top prospects, Painter was sent down to Triple-A on June 17 after recording a 7.06 ERA across his first 14 major league appearances.
He went on to make five starts with Lehigh Valley before being recalled just days ahead of Monday’s Trade Deadline. Looking to build on a strong return outing in Baltimore last Friday, Painter showed promise again before his start was cut short by injury.
“Super frustrating,” Painter said. “My role is to go out there, give the team innings and ease the load on the bullpen. The game went longer than expected tonight, so those guys had to pick up extra work.”
Although the Phillies explored options for adding starting pitching, they ultimately did not secure a new arm before the Trade Deadline.
Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski acknowledged that the club’s lack of a Trade Deadline addition leaves him “somewhat” uneasy about the team’s starting-pitching depth, though he remains confident in the rotation itself.
“We believe that if we reach the postseason, our rotation is in a very strong position,” Dombrowski said. “Other teams are focused on strengthening their top three starters, but for us, that wasn’t really a priority. If we were going to bring someone in, it would have needed to be a clear upgrade over Andrew.”
That confidence, however, hinges on the health of the entire rotation. Any injury — to Painter or another starter — could quickly alter the outlook.
Painter, for his part, is hopeful his latest issue won’t sideline him for long.
“We’ll evaluate things when I come in tomorrow, but I’m feeling optimistic,” he said. “I don’t expect it to be anything serious.”
