Inconsistent curveball is at the root of Phillies closer Corey Knebel’s struggles

MILWAUKEE — Corey Knebel uncorked some of his best curveballs of the season in the bullpen Tuesday night.

But they never made it to the mound.

Knebel threw 32 pitches, only four of which were curveballs, in a ninth-inning tightrope walk in which he walked the bases loaded before finally closing out the Phillies’ come-from-behind, 3-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.

It was the continuation of a rough month for Knebel, who has a 5.27 ERA, three losses, and three blown saves in his last 13 appearances. One common denominator: little feel for his curveball.

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Beginning with a May 5 meltdown at home against the New York Mets, Knebel has thrown a total of 68 curveballs, only 27 for strikes. If he’s unable to land his breaking pitch, it leaves him with only a fastball. He nailed down a 14-pitch save May 11 in Seattle by using entirely heaters. But one pitch is usually a recipe for trouble.

To wit: In the series opener against the Brewers, two of Knebel’s first three pitches were curveballs, and he missed with both to Andrew McCutchen, who drew a seven-pitch walk. He didn’t go back to the curve again until two batters later, when he tried to get Rowdy Tellez to chase one in the dirt.

Knebel fell behind Victor Caratini on a first-pitch curveball, then threw 16 consecutive fastballs to end the game (including nine in a row to Jace Peterson, who worked a walk).

“He’s been a little inconsistent lately,” interim manager Rob Thomson said before the Phillies faced the Brewers again Wednesday. “It’s the walks more than anything that are hurting him.”

Indeed, Knebel has walked 11 batters in his last 13⅔ innings. But Thomson’s stance on the closer situation is unchanged. Although Knebel was unlikely to pitch Wednesday night after throwing 32 pitches in the previous game, the Phillies aren’t making a change in the ninth inning, according to Thomson.

“I still like him,” Thomson said. “I know you guys [in the media] are going to ask. We haven’t had any internal discussions about changing anything. I still like him because he’s tough and he’s been in that spot before. He’s just got to work through some things.”

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Odúbel Herrera started in center field, as Thomson tries to get at-bats for him and Mickey Moniak, both of whom are left-handed hitters.

“Any of those young kids that are up here, if we can, they need to play, so I’m trying to give Moniak a little bit of a shot here,” Thomson said. “But we’ve got to keep Douby sharp, too.”

Moniak had a hit in three consecutive games entering play Tuesday night but was also only 3-for-16 with seven strikeouts and no extra-base hits since returning from the broken bone in his right hand that kept him out since the beginning of the season.

Ideally, a center-field platoon would consist of one right-handed hitter and one lefty. Righty-swinging Matt Vierling, the opening-day center fielder, got recalled from triple A this week. But the Phillies likely will send either him or Scott Kingery back to Lehigh Valley on Saturday when they reinstate Zack Wheeler from the paternity list to start against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Vierling could stick around because of his versatility, according to Thomson, and has resumed taking grounders in the infield. It may be Vierling’s path to playing his way back into the center-field mix.

“He told me [Monday] he’s comfortable with playing anywhere on the diamond,” Thomson said. “He’s a really good athlete. He does a lot of good things. He can run, he can throw. The ball really jumps off his bat. So, yeah, he’s got a lot of value for us.”

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As part of MLB’s All-Star festivities, Jimmy Rollins will manage the American League prospects in the annual Futures Game on July 16 at Dodger Stadium. ... All-Star balloting began Wednesday on MLB.com and phillies.com. ... The Phillies acquired triple-A left-hander Michael Plassmeyer from San Francisco for triple-A catcher Austin Wynns. ... Rhys Hoskins and his wife, Jayme, will host a charity event to benefit for the Muscular Dystrophy Association from 7-10 p.m. Sunday at Yards Brewing Company, 500 Spring Garden St. Details are available here. ... Zach Eflin (2-4, 3.88 ERA) will start the series finale Thursday against Brewers right-hander Corbin Burnes (3-3, 2.50), the reigning NL Cy Young winner.