It was only one game, but top pitching prospect Andrew Painter’s major league debut felt like a turning point for the Philadelphia Phillies.
Coming into Tuesday night’s game against the Washington Nationals, the Phillies had lost three straight and looked lifeless on both sides of the ball. But Painter took to the hill and delivered 5 1/3 dazzling innings, striking out eight Nationals hitters and allowing just one run in a 3-2 Phillies victory.
The performance was excellent in its own right, but what stood out after the game was how confident the Phillies’ veteran players seemed to be that Painter’s dominance was sustainable.
“I had conversations with Painter yesterday and today that were pretty impressive, just his knowledge of their lineup over there,” catcher J.T. Realmuto said, per Todd Zolecki of MLB.com. “Guys he hasn’t even faced before, he watched video. He had some ideas of how he wanted to work counts.
“That’s really impressive of a kid that age. You would’ve never known it was his first start. He seemed super calm. Confident.”
Outfielder Brandon Marsh, who has become another important piece of this Phillies core, summed up Painter’s night in just a few words.
“It looked like he had been there before,” Marsh said, per Zolecki. “It was dope.”
There might still be bumps in the road to come for Painter, who turns 23 next week and missed two full years of his development due to Tommy John surgery. But if Tuesday night proved anything, it was that the Phillies’ widespread belief in the youngster is well-founded.
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