‘He looked like a star.’ Andrew Painter’s impressive debut three years in the making helps Phillies snap early-season skid

Andrew Painter hadn’t even completed his walk in from the bullpen when he heard the first ovation. As he crossed the first-base line, fans behind the Phillies’ dugout stood and cheered, a gesture befitting the occasion.

But it didn’t compare to the last ovation.

At 8:02 p.m. Tuesday, 80 minutes after a first pitch that was three years in the making, Painter relinquished the ball and left the mound to a roar that might have lifted the cherry-red cap clear off his head if manager Rob Thomson hadn’t reminded him to do it himself.

“That was awesome,” Painter said later, after the Phillies held on for a feel-good 3-2 victory over the Nationals. “I don’t think I could’ve drawn it up much better.”

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Somehow, almost impossibly, the most anticipated major-league debut by a Phillies pitcher in two decades, since franchise icon Cole Hamels in 2006, actually lived up to the hype.

And then some.

First, the line: 5⅓ innings, four hits, one run, one walk, eight strikeouts, 84 pitches, 57 strikes. But that doesn’t even do justice to how well Painter pitched before 40,708 paying customers at the corner of 11th and Pattison.

Ten days shy of turning 23, the youngest Phillies starter since Ranger Suárez in 2018 — with “Andrew’s Painters” in Section 302, “Painter’s Painters” in Section 218, and who knows how many other groups of homage-paying fans popping up across the ballpark — Painter dialed his fastball to 98.7 mph, unleashed wicked curveballs and sweepers and bat-slowing changeups, and even got a few strikeouts with a splitter that he’s been perfecting.

And then there was his demeanor — chill as could be.

“He didn’t seem fazed by anything,” said Kyle Schwarber, who hit a solo homer in the third inning. “Even before the game, there was no pacing, no nothing. It was pretty cool.”

J.T. Realmuto added, “He seemed super calm, confident. You would have never known it was his first start.”

And from Adolis García, who hit his first Phillies homer: “He looked like a star.”

Fellow rookie Justin Crawford scored what proved to be the winning run in the fifth inning on an error by Nationals first baseman Luis García Jr. With Crawford in center field, it marked the first time since Aug. 7, 2015, that the Phillies started an under-23 pitcher and position player in a game (Aaron Nola and Maikel Franco).

“When those young guys come up, there’s a lot of excitement,” Thomson said. “And guys root for them because they remember their first appearance or game in the big leagues.”

Crawford debuted with two hits on opening day. This was Painter’s moment.

Take it from the top. His first pitch hummed in at 96.6 mph for a called strike. Realmuto tossed out the ball for a souvenir. Four pitches later, another keepsake: a curveball that struck out Nationals leadoff hitter James Wood.

Then came a Houdini act. After yielding back-to-back singles to open the second, Painter escaped with three fly balls.

Nationals manager Blake Butera stacked the lineup with six left-handed hitters and two switch-hitters to increase the degree of difficulty. Lefties batted .287 with an .857 OPS against Painter last season in the minor leagues.

But Painter mixed his pitches like a blender to the lefties, preventing them from sitting on the heater. And the second time through the order, he began sprinkling in splitters.

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“We were, I mean, not necessarily saving it, but I didn’t feel like he needed it that first time through because he was throwing everything else so well,” Realmuto said. “It’s always good as a starting pitcher to be able to have something in your back pocket for the second or third time through the lineup.”

It’s part of what makes the special ones great. And make no mistake: The Phillies believe Painter is special.

For years, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has hung up the phone on rival executives who have made trade offers for Painter. In 2023, when Painter was 19, the Phillies seriously considered him in spring training for a spot in the season-opening starting rotation.

But then Painter tore an elbow ligament, had surgery, and missed two seasons. When he returned to the mound in triple-A last season, Dombrowski believed he’d be ready for the majors by the summer. But Painter struggled to command his fastball, posted a 5.40 ERA in 22 triple-A starts, and never got called up.

“We’ve been waiting for a while for this,” Thomson said, “and so have our players.”

Painter conceded that he thought about his debut often over the last three years. It helped him to get through the long, sweaty days of rehab at the team’s facility in Clearwater, Fla., and the challenging nights last season in Lehigh Valley.

Was it all that he imagined?

“It probably exceeded it,” he said. “A lot of people showed up. I think there were about 40 [family and friends] here. Maybe even more, honestly. Just the support system behind me, everyone come out, taking time out of their week to come watch me pitch, it’s great.

“The crowd showed up tonight and kind of rallied behind me. Just kind of soaked all of it in. I came in, I didn’t want to place an expectation on myself. I just wanted to go out there and make sure I was convicted in every pitch that I was throwing and feel confident with everything that I was throwing.”

Painter didn’t want to stop throwing in the sixth inning. But after allowing a one-out single to CJ Abrams on his 84th pitch, he got a visit from Thomson, who tapped him on the chest.

“Did you enjoy it?” the manager said.

Painter initially shook his head no before realizing what Thomson said. Yes, Painter said. He enjoyed it.

“Just make sure you tip your cap when you walk off,” Thomson said.

Cue the ovation.

“I almost forgot,” Painter said of the cap-tip. “But I did it.”

With the promise of many more in the future.

“If we can keep him healthy, this guy’s going to be really good for a long time,” Thomson said. “He’s going to have a really great career. He’s one of those upper-echelon guys that’s got the combination of power and command. The future is bright for him.”