PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Phillies have returned home after an impressive 6-1 road trip to Colorado and Sacramento.
The club returns home with the best record in all of Major League Baseball, a title they held for a majority of the 2024 season. Division rivals, the Atlanta Braves, welcome the Phillies home for a 6-game home swing.
Phillies Injury Updates
The big injury news surrounding the Philadelphia Phillies is related to Aaron Nola.
Nola threw off the mound on Tuesday in what Rob Thomson described as a “touch-and-go session.” Thomson would clarify what he meant by a touch-and-go session by saying that while Nola threw off the mound, it was not at full intensity. This difference in pacing allows him to test how his right ankle feels, as well as build up his arm a bit. Nola last pitched against the St. Louis Cardinals on May 14th in Philadelphia.
If Nola feels good after today’s session, Thomson discussed the game plan for the right-hander. He will throw a traditional bullpen once he feels good to throw, and while the Phillies left the topic there, I would expect their veteran to get at least one rehab start in Triple-A.
Andrew Painter
Major League Baseball’s 5th-ranked prospect will retake the mound on Wednesday for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. Painter will go 6 innings or throw 80-85 pitches, all depending on which comes first.
When asked when Painter would be joining the Phillies, Thomson stood pat on the organization’s “Julyish” deadline. The team has been focused on this period of time since Spring Training and seems unlikely to adjust. With roughly another month’s worth of baseball games to go, I would expect Painter to be in Triple-A for at least another 4 starts.
The team is not going to rush one of the best arms in the game. With an abundance of starting pitching at the moment on the Major League roster, Mick Abel in Triple-A, and Aaron Nola rehabbing his ankle, the Phillies have the luxury of waiting for Andrew Painter.
Lineup Adjustment
The Phillies made a move in their lineup, sliding Alec Bohm to the 5th spot of the order. Recently, J.T. Realmuto had been holding the 5th spot in the order for the club.
The move was a mixture of rewarding Alec Bohm for good swings and taking the pressure off Realmuto.
“He’s working hard to eliminate his leg kick a little bit, [but] just to get the timing better. I just wanted to take a little pressure off of him,” said Thomson on his starting catcher.
Alec Bohm has been swinging quite the bat in the month of May. Bohm is slashing .341/.382/.537/.919 in 22 games this month. He has hit 4 home runs in that stretch and has tripled his extra-base hit totals from March and April.
This version of Bohm is much closer to the one the Phillies saw in the first half of last season. Healthy both physically and mentally, it is time for Bohm to prove why he should remain in the 5-hole of the club’s batting order.
Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
