Phillies may be preparing Andrew Painter for a bullpen role by keeping him on normal rest for his next start

Don Mattingly didn’t want to tempt fate. So, in revealing that Andrew Painter will start Thursday night instead of Friday, he explained that the Phillies merely prefer to keep the rookie on regular rest.

But there’s another factor at play.

By keeping Painter on turn rather than giving him extra rest — as they did last week in New York against the Mets — the Phillies could line him up to come out of the bullpen for one inning over the weekend in lieu of a side session in preparation for a potential relief role in the postseason.

» READ MORE: Dave Dombrowski: ‘Better to wait until our season is complete’ before deciding on Don Mattingly’s future

And if the Phillies had clinched a wild card, Mattingly surely would’ve discussed the plan for Painter as a postseason reliever. But they still needed to beat the Brewers on Wednesday night and get a loss from either the Diamondbacks or the Padres.

“There’s really no plan at this point for what we’re going to do,” Mattingly said. “Just win tonight, and then we can talk about it.”

Painter hasn’t pitched in a relief role in his brief career, although the 23-year-old righty did follow an opener twice early in the season. He gave up one run in five innings April 12 against the Diamondbacks and allowed five runs in five innings June 12 against the Brewers.

But the Phillies are trying to fortify the bridge to closer Jhoan Duran, especially with setup reliever Jonathan Bowlan sidelined by a right groin strain. Last weekend, Dave Dombrowski said “some of our starters are going to end up in the bullpen” for the wild-card round.

Painter, who isn’t lined up to start in the best-of-three miniseries, would be a logical candidate to fill that role. And the Phillies would surely feel more comfortable using him out of the bullpen if they can give him a relief appearance before the end of the season.

“[I’d] be able to rear back a little bit and let it eat a little bit more,” Painter said recently. “I’m sure velo would tick up a little bit, and we’ll be able to just empty the tank.”

In 24 appearances, Painter is 3-10 with a 5.59 ERA. He has been more effective since returning July 31 from a brief stint back in triple A. In his last 10 starts, he has allowed only 43 hits in 55⅔ innings and posted a 3.88 ERA.

» READ MORE: The Zack Wheeler conversation: Why he expected to thrive after surgery, and how much longer he wants to play

Although Jesús Luzardo tested his sore left shoulder by playing catch for a fourth consecutive day, he had what Mattingly called “more of a recovery day.” The Phillies haven’t disclosed when he will throw from a mound.

“We just have to see how he feels [Thursday],” Mattingly said, “and then listen to [athletic trainer] Paul [Buchheit] and see what he says he can do.”

Luzardo, who hasn’t pitched since a 109-pitch complete game Sept. 7 against the Braves, is eligible to return from the injured list Sunday. The Phillies remain hopeful that he will be able to pitch in the postseason in some capacity, perhaps out of the bullpen.

By striking out the side in the first inning Tuesday night, Zack Wheeler became the 10th active pitcher — and the 96th pitcher ever — to reach 2,000 strikeouts.

“It’s really cool, special,” Wheeler said. “Some of the guys asked me in here, ‘Would you have ever thought [of reaching 2,000 strikeouts]? The answer is no. Getting into the league, trying to get your feet under you, trying to last, game to game early on. Just trying to stay up in the big leagues and trying to figure out how to throw strikes. That was hard for me. Just being where I am now, it’s pretty special.”

Early in his career, after coming up with the Mets, Wheeler missed nearly two seasons after Tommy John elbow surgery and setbacks in his recovery. But since he signed with the Phillies in 2020, Wheeler has a 2.93 ERA in 184 starts and more wins above replacement (36.5, according to FanGraphs) than any pitcher in the sport.

Bowlan threw lightly off a bullpen mound. “It tells you he’s feeling pretty good,” said Mattingly, who didn’t disclose plans to get Bowlan into a game before the end of the regular season. … The Phillies topped 3 million fans in total attendance Tuesday night. It marked the fourth consecutive season that they reached that mark. ... The Brewers haven’t named a starter for the series finale, but righty Bryse Wilson (0-0, 3.67) is a possibility. Wilson began the season in triple A with the Phillies and made one major-league appearance before getting designated for assignment in June.

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Matt Klentak's fingerprints are still on the Phillies' roster six years after he was the team's general manager. These days, Klentak is part of the front office for the Brewers, who recently clinched their fourth consecutive NL Central title. With the Brewers coming to town Tuesday, Klentak joined Phillies Extra to discuss his current and former teams. Watch here. 

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