Andrew Painter gave the Phillies exactly the kind of start they needed Monday night in St. Louis, and the changeup was the pitch that made it happen.
Philadelphia came away with a 6-5 win despite the kind of setup that usually tilts the night the other way: a depleted bullpen, Painter pitching on the road, and a short turnaround after Sunday’s extra-inning game. Still, the Phils found a way.
Since being recalled from AAA Lehigh Valley, Painter has put together these numbers:
15.1 IP | 8 H | 5 ER | 7 BB | 16 K
2.93 ERA | 0.98 WHIP
The fastball remains the one pitch that still isn’t fully where it was before surgery. Painter threw it 26 times Monday and averaged 96.1 mph on it.
It has usually been his main offering, but that usage dipped in St. Louis, down to 28% from his normal 32%.
The real story was the changeup. Painter leaned on it 29 times, or 31.2% of his pitches for the night, making it his most-used pitch of the game. That’s a sharp contrast from how little he had gone to it before, when it had only been used 4.2% of the time.
The results backed it up. Painter didn’t allow a hit on the changeup, and all five changeups that were put in play turned into outs. Those five balls in play were hit with an average exit velocity of just 72.5 mph.
He also got the pitch into the zone and made Cardinals hitters chase. Painter threw the changeup for a strike 72.4% of the time, going 21 for 29, and St.
Louis swung at 62.1% of them, or 18 swings. From those swings, he picked up five whiffs, a 27.8% whiff rate, with four swinging strikes and one foul tip.
The pitch averaged 90.6 mph, reached 95.5 mph at its peak, and dipped to 88.2 mph at its lowest point.
For the Phillies, it was the kind of night that can change the feel of a second half. If Painter can keep giving them something like this, it matters.
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