ALLENTOWN – On a hot Thursday night at Coca-Cola Park, Andrew Painter climbed the mound for the first time in 11 days, his longest stretch between starts this season. The top prospect in the Phillies‘ system looked sharp for the majority of his outing, pitching six innings for the first time this season in what was a much-needed positive outing for the righty in a 5-3 Lehigh Valley win.
“It felt great,” Painter said with a smile when asked how he felt after the extended break.
Painter started his night retiring the first nine batters faced, picking up three strikeouts. With his fastball sitting at 96 m.p.h., the eighth-ranked prospect in baseball went to his curveball more than he normally has, snapping 19 breaking balls off, keeping Norfolk’s lineup off-balanced.
“Trying to expand the arsenal. That pitch has been successful for me this year. I’ve been getting ambushed a little bit with the heater and throwing it a lot in predictable counts early. So, just a different look and get them off the fastball a little bit.”
Dealing with adversity
In the fourth, Painter lost his command, walking Dylan Beavers to open the inning before Ryan Mountcastle, on a rehab assignment for the Orioles, laced a curveball over the left field wall for a two-run home run. That was the only blemish for the righty.
“It was a two-strike pitch in the zone and with two strikes, I think you have to expand a little bit more. He’s pretty good. He has had a lot of show time. He’s seen a lot of things. That pitch just has to be down.”
After walking the following two batters, the outing could have unraveled. Painter instead induced a double play and a groundout to end the threat and inning. He went on to retire his final six batters in order, leaving the game in line for the win.
“Just making an adjustment,” Painter said on his in-game thought process during the fourth. “I knew I needed a ground ball there to get myself out of there. Threw a sinker there to try and get him to roll over. Just seeing where the game is at and making adjustments.
Painter turned in a quality start, allowing just the two runs on the lone hit while walking three and striking out four on 76 pitches. It was the second time this season that Painter had to face multiple big-league hitters in the Tides’ lineup.
Thursday night, it was Mountcastle, Heston Kjerstad, and Emmanuel Rivera. Back on May 29, he had to navigate a lineup that started with Colton Cowser and Jordan Westburg, both on rehab assignments.
“You always want to face those guys. That’s the biggest test you’re going to have. If you get beat, you want to get beat with your best stuff by the best guys. I think it’s just a big test. Those guys have seen really good pitches and really good big leaguers so it’s a good test to see how your stuff is playing.
Not so July-ish
The time frame the organization was aiming for was “July-ish” for Painter to potentially make his big league debut. It was a consistent, hopeful target for Painter to meet. Due to a turbulent first half with the command still working its way back after two Tommy John surgeries, Painter will remain in Triple-A, looking to build off what he put together on the mound.
The Phillies also have been adamant that he would not earn a promotion just on prospect status. He had to show he had everything clicking. Painter said he is focused at controlling and improving what he can on the mound.
“Not necessarily. I’m just trying to work on stuff every outing. I’m still in just my second full year of pro ball. Just finding stuff I have to work on and perfecting the craft. I’ve been working on a lot of things this year. I feel like we are trending in the right direction. It’s now about locking that in and being more consistent.”
