Andrew Painter didn’t have his best stuff in second spring start; injury updates on Aidan Miller, more Phillies

CLEARWATER, Fla. — Andrew Painter’s second start of the spring didn’t begin as planned.

He allowed a four-pitch walk to Blue Jays outfielder Myles Straw to lead things off.

But after that, the right-handed prospect settled in. He induced a fly-out in his next at-bat, picked off Straw at first for his second out, and drew a groundout to end the frame.

Painter allowed a line drive single with two outs in the second inning, but induced a force-out to stop the bleeding. He allowed no hits or walks in the third.

Painter’s four-seam fastball averaged 96.3 mph, with his hardest pitch of the day clocking in at 97.3 mph. His stuff was not as sharp as it was in his first outing, when he dominated Yankees hitters for two innings on March 1. On Saturday, the prospect generated less swing-and-miss and no strikeouts.

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But neither Painter nor manager Rob Thomson said they were concerned.

“I think that’s just part of pitching,” Painter told reporters after the game. “Making those adjustments. I didn’t have my best stuff today. Four-pitch walk to start. But you got to go out there and compete, get yourself out of it.

“So, I thought I made some good pitches. I thought spin was good today, would love to get the changeup going a little bit. You’ve got to kind of take what you’re given that day and work with it.”

There wasn’t much offense to be found in the Phillies’ 1-0 loss to the Blue Jays on Saturday. The lineup went hitless through its first five innings, and recorded two hits overall. But Toronto didn’t do much, either, thanks to some strong performances from the relief corps.

Jose Alvarado entered in relief of Painter in the fourth, allowing one single with two strikeouts in a scoreless frame (while hitting 99 mph a few times). Reliever Tanner Banks pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the fifth, and closer Jhoan Duran took the sixth.

It was Duran’s second outing of the spring. He allowed one hit with two strikeouts, reaching 101 mph on his four-seam fastball. Reliever Génesis Cabrera allowed an RBI force-out in the top of the ninth.

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“Control and command were off a little bit in the first inning, but I thought the second inning was better than the first and the third inning was better than the second,” Thomson said of Painter. “So the encouraging thing, to me, is that it didn’t spiral on him.”

Zack Wheeler threw 15 pitches in the bullpen on Saturday as he works his way back from a blood clot. Thomson said it went well. Reliever Orion Kerkering (hamstring strain) did the same thing, and Thomson said he looked “really good.” The plan is for Wheeler to throw his next bullpen session on Tuesday.

Gabriel Rincones Jr. (knee soreness) hit on the field the last two days. There’s no timetable for him yet.

Aidan Miller, who has been dealing with a persistent back issue, went to visit one of the Phillies’ doctors in Philadelphia on Friday. Thomson said Miller is back in Clearwater today.

“Just to see another doctor,” Thomson said. “Just to close the loop on all of the medical people.”

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When asked whether anything has changed with Miller in terms of his timeline to return to play, Thomson said the Phillies don’t have a timeline.

“I mean, he hasn’t swung a bat in two weeks,” Thomson said. “We just want to get him healthy, where there’s no pain, and get him back playing.”

When asked what his level of concern is, Thomson said: “None. We’ll take care of him.”

The Phillies play the Twins in Fort Myers, Fla., at 1:05 p.m. on Sunday. The game will be broadcast on 94.1 WIP and NBC Sports Philadelphia.