The Phillies bullpen has been the best in the MLB over the last two weeks….wait what?
After years of endless suffering, it finally looks like the Phillies bullpen has made a turn for the better. Entering the 2022 season, the biggest question around the Phillies team was the strength and reliability of the bullpen and over the past two weeks, they have been the best bullpen in Major League Baseball.
Phillies Bullpen over the past 2 Weeks
Connor Brogdon continued his bounce-back season into the month of June, holding the best ERA on the entire team. Brogdon finished with a 1.08 ERA in 8 games, allowing just 5 hits, 1 earned run, and striking out 8 in 8.1 innings. The 27-year-old has had a great year overall, holding a 2.04 ERA in 17.2 IP, allowing just 15 hits and 4 earned runs in 19 appearances on the mound. Hitters are slashing just .221 against Brogdon in 2022. The right-hander just re-joined the team yesterday after battling COVID-19 for the last week, and should be back on the mound in the coming days.
Seranthony Dominguez has been masterful in his time on the mound this season, letting Phillies fans breathe a sigh of relief after waiting for his return for two years. Dominguez posted a 1.13 ERA in 8 innings in June, allowing just 3 hits, 1 earned run and striking out 11. He held a 0.38 WHIP in June, while hitters batted just .111 against the slinging right-hander. Dominguez has been the team’s best reliever this season, holding a 1.80 ERA in 30 total innings pitched.
The bullpen has also received solid contributions from other arms over the last month. Jose Alvarado, a player who struggled massively to start the year, then dealt with injury, posted just a 2.57 ERA in 7 June innings. He allowed just six hits and two earned runs while striking out 10, and held opposing hitters to just a .213 average.
If you’ve been a Phillies fan for just a few years, you know the struggles of watching our bullpens. They blew the most saves in baseball history last year, and they posted a 7.06 ERA back in the 2020 season. But they’ve finally gotten guys that have contributed, and younger arms stepping up into bigger roles.
A successful month of June just further shows how poorly Joe Girardi managed this bullpen. He never knew when to throw who, he never knew when his starters were checked out of the game, and he fell in love with James Norwood and Jeurys Familia, refusing to take Corey Knebel out of the closer role.
Ever since Rob Thomson took over, the Phillies have had one of the best bullpens in baseball and thankfully, Knebel is no longer in the closer role.
Coincidence? I don’t think so.
Although the bullpen has been great, you need it to be fantastic if you want to make a run in the playoffs. There are a few arms that could be on the trade block in a few weeks, including Mychal Givens, Daniel Bard, and more. Although I believe this team needs to prioritize starting pitching depth, nothing would be wrong with bringing in another solid arm in the bullpen.
Up Next for the Phillies
The Phillies bats came alive last night, and they’ll look to do the same thing tonight at 7:05 EST.
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Mandatory Credit: Getty Images
