PHILADELPHIA — Left-hander Tim Mayza has made 396 appearances across nine big-league seasons. He’s finished 68 games. On Thursday evening, he’ll notch a new milestone: his first career start.
Forced into a doubleheader after a rainout on Wednesday, the Phillies decided to push back rookie Andrew Painter, who was originally lined up to start on Thursday. Cristopher Sánchez, scheduled to pitch on Wednesday, allowed two runs in 6 2/3 innings in the opener against the Giants on Thursday afternoon. Philadelphia will deploy a bullpen game, with Mayza to kick things off, in the finale.
“Sánchy, we felt like, was going to give us a good game,” interim manager Don Mattingly said after the Phillies’ 3-2 walk-off Game 1 win. “He usually does, right? Get us in somewhere into the game where we’re not just blowing up our ‘pen. … Our ‘pen was in a really good spot, and we felt like this was the best way to to go about it.”
Mattingly wanted to avoid using Sánchez and Painter on the same day, because the Phillies have a four-game series against the Marlins starting Friday. If both starters pitched Thursday, the team would have needed a spot starter or a bullpen game on Monday in Miami. With the ability to call up reliever Nolan Hoffman as the 27th man for the doubleheader — and their trust in Sánchez to go deep — the Phillies decided to do a bullpen game Thursday instead.
Sánchez rebounded from a shaky three-hit, two-run top of the first inning to provide the crucial length, humming into the seventh inning. Perhaps he could have gone even further into the game. With two outs in the bottom of the inning, Mattingly removed Sánchez after 85 pitches with Heliot Ramos, who had two hits and a walk versus the lefty, due up.
The Phillies ace admitted he wished to remain in the game.
“Of course I wanted to stay out,” Sánchez said through a team interpreter. “I mean, 85 pitches, I just wanted to finish that one off.”
The frustration didn’t bother Mattingly.
“That’s one thing about guys being upset,” Mattingly said. “Doing this long enough, guys are competitive and they want to stay in the game. We felt like it was the right spot not to let anything get started.”
Right-hander Orion Kerkering entered to retire Ramos, then returned to the mound for the eighth. He recorded just one out and allowed two singles before lefty Tanner Banks replaced him. Banks escaped the jam, but ran into trouble in the ninth. Righty Chase Shugart came in for the final out of the top of the inning. He earned the win when the Phillies scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth on a Bryson Stott triple and a Justin Crawford infield single.
In between games, the Phillies swapped out a bullpen spot; lefty Kyle Backhus was placed on the 15-day injured list with elbow inflammation, and right-hander Trevor Richards had his contract selected from Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
“We feel good,” Mattingly said of the bullpen. “We’re in a pretty good spot. Obviously, we play two games, and we’re not just going to throw guys out there multiple games if they throw a ton of pitches.”
