Orion Kerkering blows 2-run lead in the seventh, Phillies drop to 3-10 since the All-Star Break

The Phillies called up Andrew Painter to start Friday in Baltimore, there was real buzz around the decision, and for six innings he rewarded it.

Painter gave them exactly what Mattingly said he would when he called Painter the best chance to win and then the bullpen did what the bullpen has done all summer, which is take a winnable game and burn it to the ground.

The Phillies lost 6-4 at Camden Yards, extending their losing streak from the fifth rotation spot to a staggering 12 straight games, every single one since May 18.

This is the Phillies in 2026 in one game.

When they hit, they don’t pitch, when they pitch, they don’t hit and on the rare night they get enough of both, the bullpen shows up to remind everyone why this team is in freefall.

Friday, they got six good innings from a 23-year-old kid making his return from the minors, and it still wasn’t enough, because the relief corps can’t hold a lead to save its life.

On the board early! pic.twitter.com/W7aawkNTou

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) July 31, 2026

It didn’t start clean for Andrew Painter

After the offense jumped Brandon Young for two in the first, Painter immediately got bitten by the home run ball, the exact thing that torpedoed his first stint into a 7.06 ERA.

Dylan Beavers smoked a 101.8 mph double to open the bottom of the first, and Pete Alonso, of course it was Alonso, followed with a 109.3 mph two-run bomb. Not the welcome-back anyone wanted.

Here’s where it got encouraging, and “encouraging” might be underselling it.

After those two extra-base hits, Andrew Painter retired 18 of the next 21 hitters he faced. His command settled in and the first-pitch strikes that abandoned him in his first stint came back, as he got ahead 65 percent of the time.

He threw with conviction and poise, exactly the traits the Phillies needed to see from him after the demotion. Painter ended by tossing six innings, while allowing two runs, three walks, and striking out six.

Orion Kerkering…

None of it mattered, because the bullpen is a dumpster fire. Mattingly handed Painter’s 4-2 lead to Orion Kerkering, who proceeded to have one of the worst outings of his entire career, allowing four earned runs, the most he’s ever given up in a single appearance, on two hits and a walk.

His ERA over his last seven appearances is now 6.00. Then Tim Mayza came in with runners on and served up a two-run triple, and just like that the Phillies went from up 4-2 to down 6-4.

No Dawgs

You had to DFA Kerkering after last year btw. Too many people wanted to give him a hug after that shit.

— Drew Smith (@drewmsmith) August 1, 2026

Mattingly said the rough stretch hasn’t shaken his belief in the group, which is the kind of thing a manager has to say, but nobody’s buying it.

This bullpen has been one of the worst in baseball since June, and Friday was another gut-punch example of a good game wasted by relievers who can’t be trusted with a lead.

Painter did his job. The relief corps couldn’t do theirs.

The Phillies Offense Didn’t Help Either

The bats didn’t exactly cover themselves in glory. Trea Turner hit his 16th homer and J.T. Realmuto added his eighth, but the Phillies went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position, which is the same clutch-hitting failure that’s plagued them all through this skid.

Atta way Trea 👏 pic.twitter.com/9cJ8v0blir

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) July 31, 2026

REALly crushed it 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/BqYl3HIxTe

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) August 1, 2026

When you leave that many runners on against a beatable Orioles team, you’re asking the bullpen to protect a lead that should’ve been bigger, and this bullpen cannot be asked to protect anything.

The Takeaway: Everything Else Is a Problem

What’s the biggest problem with the Phillies right now? pic.twitter.com/UuCOJQxilo

— Drew Smith (@drewmsmith) August 1, 2026

The needs list keeps shifting by the day because there are so many of them: back-end starter, bullpen help, right-handed bat, cleaner defense, more consistent offense. On Friday they finally got the starting pitching, and the bullpen and the RISP struggles buried them anyway.

Twelve straight losses out of the fifth spot with a bullpen that can’t hold a two-run lead in the seventh is a major problem and lineup that can’t cash in with runners in scoring position is even worse. The deadline is days away, and Dombrowski has to fix the bullpen above all else, because Friday proved that even when the Phillies solve one problem, another one is right there waiting to lose them the game.

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