‘We survived, right?’ Andrew Painter and Phillies bullpen rise to occasion, deliver 6-5 win over Cardinals
Painter held the Cardinals without a hit until the sixth. In one of the strongest starts of his young career, he allowed two earned runs over 5⅓ innings, striking out six.
ST. LOUIS — There was no backup plan.
As the Cardinals wheeled around the bases in the eighth inning, finding gap after gap, lucky break after lucky break, interim manager Don Mattingly could do nothing but watch. The Phillies’ lead shrank from four runs to one, and still, the bullpen phone in left field never rang. It couldn’t. There was no one to call on.
“We had one bullet out there,” Mattingly said, “and that was it.”
That bullet was Jonathan Bowlan, who was tabbed for the ninth. With a relief corps that has been run ragged over the past week, the Phillies had no choice but to rely on rookie Andrew Painter and fringe starter Alan Rangel to cover eight innings against the Cardinals.
If the game went to extras — like the Phillies did three times in the last five days — Mattingly was planning to put backup catcher Garrett Stubbs on the mound and functionally concede the game to St. Louis.
But Rangel, who had piggybacked Painter, took a breath. He went back to the rosin bag behind the mound. The Cardinals had already tagged him for three runs on five hits — including three doubles — in the inning. They had the tying run on third, the go-ahead run on second, a pinch-hitting lefty at the plate.
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Rangel went to his best pitch — his change-up — and left-handed Bryan Torres sent a soft liner out to Justin Crawford’s waiting glove in center field. For now, the threat was quelled.
“Gutsy,” Mattingly said.
The Phillies ultimately pulled off a 6-5 win over the Cardinals to open the series because the plan — the only plan they had — worked out. Painter delivered one of his strongest starts of his rookie season, taking a no-hit bid into the sixth. Rangel managed to survive 2⅔ innings. And Bowlan delivered his first career major league save with a 1-2-3 ninth.
“It’s the first time that they’ve given me such an important task,” Rangel said. “And I just feel proud of myself and I feel good with what we did today.”
The offense did just enough to back them up. They jumped out to an early lead in the second, capitalizing on a throwing error from Cardinals starter Hunter Dobbins and a single from Edmundo Sosa. From there, the Phillies continued to tack on. Kyle Schwarber finished with two doubles and came a foot away from a homer in the eighth, but it hung up just enough to be playable for right fielder Jordan Walker.
Sosa, who spent nearly 10 years in the Cardinals organization until being traded to the Phillies in 2022, also hit an RBI double in the eighth.
“It’s always nice to come here and enjoy playing in this beautiful stadium,” Sosa said. “Back when I was younger, way younger, I dreamed of playing in this stadium.”
Meanwhile, Painter kept St. Louis off-balance with his change-up, which has been a weapon for him since being recalled from the minors. While in triple A, Painter tweaked its grip, and he has been throwing it with conviction.
Three of his six strikeouts came on the pitch.
“Just more and more reps with that build the confidence up, and I feel comfortable throwing it to both sides of the plate, lefty or righty, and really just in any count,” Painter said of his change-up.
Painter, 23, became the youngest Phillies pitcher to carry a no-hit bid through five innings since Cole Hamels did so at age 22 against the Astros in September 2006.
“It’s three in a row that he’s thrown the ball well since he’s come back,” Mattingly said. “So that’s obviously positive for us, but that was something that the team needed right there. And for him to come through in that spot is really good for him, and good for our club.”
But soon after the Cardinals’ first hit fell in the sixth — Iván Herrera tucked a line drive just inside the left field line for a double — the shutout evaporated, too. Alec Burleson hit a two-run single to chase Painter from the game, bringing in Rangel.
The Phillies were well-aware of the state of their bullpen heading into Monday night. That morning, they had been dealt another blow with newly acquired reliever Caleb Kilian landing on the injured list.
As usual, the Phillies staff checked in on every reliever and how they were feeling ahead of the game, and Bowlan was the only one they felt comfortable calling on.
“I was prepared,” Bowlan said. “I mean, you always got to be prepared down there.”
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He added that he would do anything he was asked to, even if it was to pitch more than one inning. But as it happened, he only needed 10 pitches to retire the side in order. Bowlan fulfilled the last piece of the plan and picked up his first major league save, all at once.
For him, it was kismet that it happened on this day, in this ballpark. Bowlan grew up in Tennessee watching the Memphis Redbirds, a Cardinals affiliate, and his father Mark was a 19th-round pick for the Cardinals back in 1989. Bowlan estimated he had 20 family members and friends looking on in the stands on Monday.
Last season, Bowlan bounced between the majors and minors in the Royals organization. This year, he has ascended into a key high-leverage arm, most often to set up Phillies closer Jhoan Duran. And his family was there to see it come to fruition with his first save.
“It’s kind of full circle,” Bowlan said. “Family was able to come out, and being the fact that they were here for it, it’s very special. Family means the world to me. Personal accolades, that’s cool. That’s awesome. Keep going and see where this thing goes.”
The Phillies bullpen will have more options on Tuesday, but will still likely not be back at full strength. That’s how much stress has been placed on the unit in the past week. But with Cristopher Sánchez and Zack Wheeler scheduled to be on the mound, the Phillies have come to expect quality starts, which would lighten the load.
To get there, though, they needed a rookie, a fringe starter, and a breakout reliever to step up.
“We survived, right?” Mattingly said. “And that’s really what you’re looking for, is find a way to win a game tonight.”
Let's talk about the Phillies' bullpen. Larry Andersen happens to be an expert on the subject. The popular Phillies radio analyst had a 17-year major-league career in which he appeared in 699 games – all but one in relief. He joins Phillies Extra to break down the biggest question standing between the Phillies and a long run through October: How will they bridge the gap to closer Jhoan Duran? Watch here.
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