Painter throws five innings, offense did nothing, Phillies lose 3-1 in Boston

The Phillies lost 3-1 to the Red Sox on Wednesday night at Fenway Park.

Three hits. One run. Ten strikeouts. Sonny Gray and the Boston bullpen made the Phillies’ lineup look like it had never seen a baseball before. Two games into the Boston series, the Phillies have scored a total of three runs. They won Tuesday because Wheeler was unhittable and they lost Wednesday because the offense was.

Painter Was Good and Nobody Is Talking About It

Andrew Painter threw five innings, gave up four hits, one run, struck out four, and threw 46 of his 62 pitches for strikes. Three of his four strikeouts came in the fifth inning when he was at his sharpest.

After the Oakland disaster where the A’s put up seven runs on him in less than four innings, after the command issues and the fastball getting crushed, Wednesday night was the best Painter has looked in weeks. The walks disappeared. The strike-throwing was efficient. The fifth inning showed the kind of stuff that made him the top pitching prospect in baseball.

Andrew Painter, K'ing the Side in the 5th pic.twitter.com/eitDmNDbKb

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 13, 2026

Sixty-two pitches through five innings. That’s an 11-pitch-per-inning pace. The kid was dealing. Forty-six strikes on 62 pitches is a 74 percent strike rate. That’s elite efficiency from a guy who walked eight batters over his previous three starts. Whatever adjustments Painter made between starts, they worked on Wednesday.

Mattingly Pulled Him After Five Innings and 62 Pitches

Here’s where it gets interesting. Mattingly pulled Painter from a 1-1 tie game after five innings despite throwing just 62 pitches. The decision was made before the game even started. Mattingly told Dombrowski his plan hours before first pitch. The bullpen was well-rested, Thursday’s game might get rained out, and this was as much about managing Painter’s development as it was about winning one game in mid-May.

Painter didn’t know about it beforehand. He wanted to go back out. Of course he did. But he understood the reasoning and didn’t fight it.

Tanner Banks opened the sixth against lefty hitters, allowed a single between two outs, and Kerkering came in to face pinch-hitter Ceddanne Rafaela. Rafaela put a two-run homer over the wall and the 1-1 game became 3-1 Boston. That was the ballgame.

The second-guessers are going to be loud about this one. I get it. You have a young pitcher dealing, throwing strikes, in a tie game, and you pull him for a reliever who gives up a two-run bomb. The optics are terrible. But Mattingly is thinking about Painter’s season, not one game in May.

After the brutal stretch Painter went through, ending on a high note with five clean innings and his confidence intact is worth more than squeezing one more inning out of him in a 1-1 road game against the Red Sox.

If Painter goes back out, gives up a homer, and his ERA balloons to 7.00, the conversation is about how Mattingly left him in too long after a rough stretch. You can’t win either way as a manager. Mattingly made his call and stood by it. I respect that.

The Offense Was Pathetic

Three hits. One run. Ten strikeouts. Bohm struck out with two runners on in the ninth to end the game. That’s the real reason the Phillies lost and nobody should be confused about it. You can debate the Painter decision all you want but the Phillies aren’t winning any baseball game with three hits and one run. The pitching staff held Boston to one run through five innings and the offense gave them nothing to work with.

Justin Crawford provided the only run with a solo homer.

Number 2️⃣ for Justin Crawford! pic.twitter.com/OWhMQoFizy

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) May 13, 2026

He also ran 93 feet in center field to make a shoestring catch behind Painter in the fourth. The rookie continues to be one of the few guys in the lineup who shows up every single night regardless of the matchup. Between the homer, the catch, and the energy he plays with, Crawford has earned his spot ten times over.

The Justin Crawford Defense

HAVE A NIGHT, JUSTIN CRAWFORD!@Toyota x #RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/hHQN1M0R3C

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) May 13, 2026

Sonny Gray was tough. He’s a veteran with nasty stuff and the Phillies couldn’t get anything going against him. But three hits and ten strikeouts from a Major League lineup is unacceptable regardless of who is on the mound and rightfully gives fans flashbacks of the Phillies not being able to hit when it matters most against good pitching.

The offense has scored three runs in two games in Boston. Wheeler’s brilliance covered it up on Tuesday. Wednesday there was nothing to hide behind.

20-23. Luzardo vs. Suarez on Thursday.

Can’t wait to see ya, Ranger Suarez.

The Phillies need the offense to show a pulse in the series finale. Luzardo takes the ball against Suarez, weather permitting. A split in Boston after coming in and winning the opener behind Wheeler would be a solid result for the first real road test under Mattingly. Dropping two of three because the bats went silent for two straight nights would be a frustrating step backward.

The pitching has been there all series. The offense hasn’t. Story of the season at this point. When the arms deal and the bats produce, the Phillies win. When the arms deal and the bats disappear, the Phillies lose close games they should be winning. Wednesday was the latest example.

Wake up the bats. Take the series Thursday.

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