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Phillies’ Jake Arrieta remains confident he can continue to pitch through pain despite early exit

A long rally by the Phillies' offense left the righthander "in a pretty tough spot" before the fifth inning.

Jake Arrieta unleashes a pitch in the first inning Thursday against the San Francisco Giants at Citizens Bank Park.
Jake Arrieta unleashes a pitch in the first inning Thursday against the San Francisco Giants at Citizens Bank Park.Read more / File Photograph

Don’t get Jake Arrieta wrong. He took great pleasure in watching the Phillies send seven batters to the plate, tack on four more runs, and knock out San Francisco Giants starter Dereck Rodriguez in the fourth inning of Thursday’s 10-2 win at Citizens Bank Park.

But, it also caused him pain.

Arrieta is trying to pitch with a bone spur floating in his right elbow, a malady that will eventually require surgery. It flares up when he throws certain pitches, namely his cutter, but it gets really irritated between innings.

“Sitting around and not continuing to throw is really what hurts the most,” Arrieta said.

So, as the Phillies worked deep counts -- Cesar Hernandez homered on the 10th pitch of an at-bat -- against Rodriguez and reliever Andrew Suarez, Arrieta was near the dugout getting worked on by the training staff to keep his arm as loose as possible. And, before he went out for the fifth inning, he told manager Gabe Kapler and pitching coach Chris Young that he didn’t know how much longer he would be able to continue.

Sure enough, with Arrieta’s sinker barely scraping 90 mph, the first three batters reached base on an error and two hits, and he was lifted for Jose Alvarez.

“Kap and CY were aware that I was in a pretty tough spot before the top of the fifth,” Arrieta said. “It was basically hitter to hitter at that point. I just kind of hit a wall. Unfortunate, but that’s what I’m working with.”

It all makes you wonder how much longer Arrieta will be able to work at all.

The Phillies recently acquired lefty starters Drew Smyly and Jason Vargas and moved Nick Pivetta and Zach Eflin to the bullpen. In time, Pivetta or Eflin might need to return to the rotation to replace Arrieta.

For now, though, Arrieta expressed confidence that he will be able to get through six innings in future starts. He also noted that Eflin and Pivetta can come into games behind him, a role that Kapler has suggested could be earmarked for Eflin.

“We’re pretty confident that is going to be a solution that is going to help us out,” Arrieta said.

Catcher J.T. Realmuto said he didn’t notice a substantial drop in Arrieta’s stuff in the fifth inning.

The right-hander "always wants the opportunity to go back out,” Kapler said. “He always thinks he’s the best option to get the next hitter out. We all have a lot of respect for that. I don’t think we want to put any sort of blanket over this and apply any rules. Or even use any pitch counts. I think what we want to do is communicate, communicate, communicate.”

Neris sits out

Hector Neris dropped his appeal and began serving a three-game suspension for throwing at David Freese in the 9-8 home win against the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 16. The Phillies will play with a 24-man roster until Neris is eligible to return on Sunday.

Neris was ejected for hitting Freese in the upper back after giving up a go-ahead, three-run homer to pinch-hitter Matt Beaty. Major League Baseball suspended him the next day.

At the time, Neris insisted he was merely trying to throw inside. He left the clubhouse Wednesday night without commenting on why he chose to drop the appeal.

Extra bases

Vargas was added to the roster and threw a bullpen session. He will make his Phillies debut Friday night against the Chicago White Sox. … Outfielder Nick Williams was optioned to triple-A Lehigh Valley after the game. … Newly acquired outfielder Corey Dickerson did not arrive after being acquired Wednesday in a trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Kapler said he’s hopeful that Dickerson will be here Friday. ... Blake Parker became the 31st pitcher used by the Phillies this season, tying a single-season club record. The reliever, signed as a free agent on Tuesday, gave up two singles in a scoreless sixth inning. … The Phillies are 24-13 in day games, 33-38 at night.