Three players made their Phillies debuts Monday night and two were instrumental in the comeback win over the Mets.
Brandon Kintzler picked up five outs, including a huge double-play ball in the fourth inning in relief of Matt Moore.
Sam Coonrod recorded six outs with three strikeouts and averaged 97 mph with his fastball.
And Matt Joyce made his debut in a pinch-hit role, popping out to third.
The Phillies have used 22 of their 26 players in their 4-0 start. The only four who haven’t appeared in a game yet are Chase Anderson, Vince Velasquez, David Hale and Ronald Torreyes.
Anderson, the No. 5 starter, pitches tonight opposite Mets right-hander Marcus Stroman. No. 4 starter Matt Moore debuted Monday and looked sharp for two innings before unraveling in the next two. He allowed two runs, four walks and four hits with four strikeouts over 3⅓ innings.
The Phillies have two long men in their bullpen in Vince Velasquez and David Hale, so it was mildly surprising to see neither get the nod after Moore. It was a big spot in that fourth inning and manager Joe Girardi went to Kintzler, who has a more trustworthy track record. It was certainly a promising sign for the Phillies that both Kintzler and Coonrod showed an ability to go multiple innings. It just gives them more options in the event of a short start.
Anderson is not known for going deep into games, averaging a similar number of innings per start to Velasquez, so it stands to reason that we could see one or both of Velasquez and Hale tonight. Keep in mind that the Phillies want to keep Velasquez stretched out so that he’s a realistic option as a spot starter in case of injury. Ideally, you don’t want him transitioning from one-inning stints to 60-75 pitches.
As for Torreyes, he is the utilityman here more for his glove and positional versatility than for his bat in pinch-hit situations. His first appearance could come as a late-inning defensive replacement for someone like Alec Bohm if the Phillies have a comfortable lead. The new extra-inning rule decreases some of the importance of bench offense because you may need only a pinch-hitter or two in a given game. On Sunday, when Andrew Knapp started behind the plate, J.T. Realmuto pinch-hit in the seventh inning. Under normal extra-inning rules, Realmuto is likely saved there in case he’s needed to catch later.
Subscribe to the Phillies Talk podcast: Apple Podcasts | Google Play | Spotify | Stitcher | Art19 | Watch on YouTube
