The Philadelphia Phillies coming off a strong week were unable to get off to a positive start in their series with the Washington Nationals on Monday night.
Despite a loss on Monday, the Phillies have been playing some good baseball of late and have seen themselves climbing in the standings. While they still have some work to do in order to catch the Atlanta Braves in the National League East, they are certainly gaining some ground.
While the team has played well , they do have some issues. One of those problems for the team is in the back end of their rotation. The duo of Aaron Nola and Andrew Painter have not pitched well this season and that has left a void in that part of the rotation. While Nola is still locked up for several years to a long-term deal, Painter has long been considered a top prospect for the team.
Unfortunately, he did not get off to a strong start to his career and the team recently sent him down. Taking his place on Monday coming out after an opener was right-hander Alan Rangel . The right-hander did pitch a little for the team in the majors last year, but he will now have a big opportunity to help the rotation.
Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Alan Rangel | Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images
Even though Philadelphia might have lost the game, one positive to come from it can be the performance of Rangel. The right-hander came in after the Phillies used Tim Mayza as the opener. Unfortunately, Mayza gave up a run in the first inning and eventually took the loss.
However, in a bulk role coming out of the bullpen, Rangel was impressive. He totaled five innings of work and allowed just one run on five hits with four strikeouts. It was Luis Garcia Jr. who was able to take him deep in the second inning, but he was strong overall.
The 28-year-old was pumping the zone with a lot of strikes, showing some strong command on the mound. Of the 72 pitches that he threw, 51 of them were strikes. This should be seen as a successful outing for the right-hander.
Due to it being a strong performance and him being able to give them five innings of work, Rangel has certainly earned himself another appearance. It will be interesting to see what the plan will be going forward in terms of using an opener ahead of him again, but the outing on Monday was encouraging.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/phillies/onsi as Phillies See Encouraging Sign From Recently Called Up Pitcher .
