April 12, 2026
Kyle Ross/Imagn Images
Rookie right-hander Andrew Painter overcame a pre-game migraine to help pitch the Phillies past the Diamondbacks.
An excited Citizen's Bank Park crowd that was hoping to see Phillies rookie Andrew Painter make his third start of the season, and first at home since his sparkling MLB debut against the Nationals on March 31, had to wait longer than anticipated.
A pre-game migraine forced the flame-throwing right-hander out of a starting role and into the bullpen Sunday before subsiding in time for Painter to start the third inning, with the Phillies already down by a run in a critical rubber game against the Diamondbacks.
Painter looked as sharp and lethal in "relief" of opener Zach Pop as he did the last time he toed the rubber in South Philly, allowing one run on three hits in five innings while striking out seven. While he mowed down Diamondbacks hitters, his own offense – also a bit delayed – finally woke up to support him, as Trea Turner tied the game with a two-run homer in the sixth and Bryce Harper stayed hot with an RBI double for the 3-2 lead.
But a Phillies bullpen that's been very good lately, especially in this series, couldn't hold the lead. The Diamondbacks scored two runs in the eighth – both charged to José Alvarado – and the Phillies bats went cold again, squandering a scoring opportunity in the bottom half and going quietly in the ninth as the Phils fell 4-3 to lose the series to Arizona and their second straight series.
The Phillies, who also had a bunch of base-running blunders, fell to 7-8 this season and are so far validating criticisms that they're an aging team that goes ice cold on offense too often.
Here's a recap of the entire series:
Harper stayed scorching hot, getting at least one hit in all three games and driving in three runs, with one RBI in each game. He has hit safely in six consecutive games and is batting .526 in that span. He roped his third homer of the year Saturday in the third, a 419-foot blast to center that followed a Kyle Schwarber three-run homer as the Phillies scored four in the fourth, and doubled again Sunday right after Turner's game-tying homer to put the Phils up 3-2. Too bad he's not getting much help.
Yes, the pen took the loss Sunday, but the offense was the major culprit and the bullpen had to log a bunch of innings as Jesús Luzardo and Taijuan Walker couldn't get past the fifth inning in their starts – Luzardo didn't even escape the fourth – and with Zach Pop being summon Sunday as an opener before Painter came in. Jonathan Bowlan, Brad Keller, Orion Kerkering and Tanner Banks combined to toss 4.1 scoreless frames Friday after the Snakes had rallied for five runs off Luzardo in the top of the fourth. On Saturday, the bullpen combined for four frames, with only Keller allowing a run to support a pretty good outing from Walker and help the Phillies preserve the one-run lead.
The rookie center fielder continues to be Phils' most consistent hitter. He's come as advertised – modest power but with excellent bat-to-ball skills. Crawford was already 3-for-4 in the first two games along with drawing two walks before he laced an opposite-field double to lead off the sixth Sunday and came around on Turner's homer that tied the game. Crawford leads the Phillies regulars with a .348 batting average and .408 on base percentage.
Marsh is the latest choice as manager Rob Thomson's cleanup hitter against right-handed pitching. Marsh smashed a three-run homer in a loss Friday, went 0-fer on Saturday but singled Sunday in a three-run sixth that moved Harper to third after Harper's double had put the Phils up 3-2, for the team's fifth straight hit. He did have a base running blunder that we'll get to later.
The two guys asked to provide run production from the right side of the plate – Adolis García and Alec Bohm – are struggling miserably. García went hitless in the series and fanned five times while Bohm struck out three times Friday night and overall went 0-for-11 in the series and hasn't gotten a hit in his past 16 at bats. Both failed to come through with the bases loaded in the sixth Sunday after the Phils had gone ahead, 3-2, as García popped out and Bohm flew out. The failure to add on came back to haunt the Phillies when Arizona scored twice in the eighth. Also in the eighth, García popped out with runners at the corners and one out, which became an inning-ending double play when Marsh got doubled off first.
After signing a blockbuster extension during spring training, Luzardo has looked shaky in two of his three starts. He got knocked around for six runs against the Rangers in his first start, rebounded well against the Rockies by striking out 11 in Colorado, but then got hit up again by the Diamondbacks on Friday, allowing five runs on five hits. His stuff is there – his k/9 is 13.5 – but he's allowed runs in bunches in two of three starts – a three-run inning against the Rangers and five-run frame against the Diamondbacks.
Harper's only mistake in the series was his annual over-aggressive attempt to leg out a double on a single to center that led him to getting thrown out at second – stuff that becomes costly in close games. Then came the disaster in the eighth. Marsh was trying to steal second when García popped out with one out, but Marsh had no reason to not get back to first in time before being doubled off – a major momentum-draining blunder. Also, where are the stolen bases? The Phillies entered Sunday with just nine, tied for 16th in MLB. Last year, they ranked 12th. Crawford, who stole 46 bags last year in Triple-A, was thrown out trying to steal second on Friday and has just one this season. Turner, who stole 36 last year, has just one so far.
The Phillies begin a three-game home series against the Chicago Cubs, who are off to a tough start after winning 92 games last year and making the playoffs.
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