Tyler Phillips takes hard-luck loss to Cardinals

Phillips walked two and struck out two batters in the contest. His offense stated him to a six-run lead in the top half of the first inning, and all Phillips had to do was keep the train on the tracks to earn a victory. Unfortunately, he couldn’t do so. He served up a two-run blast to Nick Kurtz in the second inning and a bases-clearing double to Jeff McNeil in the fourth before ultimately exiting. Phillips got eight whiffs on 71 pitches on the night, registering an uninspiring CSW of just 23 percent. He’ll try to finish the first half strong as he brings a 3.52 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and a 52/32 K/BB ratio (69 innings) into Thursday’s showdown against the Mariners.

Phillips gave up five hits, including a two-run homer to Ezequiel Duran in the fourth inning, which accounted for all of the damage against him. He struck out four and issued three walks. He’ll close out a two-start week with a road matchup against the Cardinals at Busch Stadium on Sunday.

Let’s start with the ugly as Phillips coughed up six hits, including three home runs. He struck out four and also walked three batters. The 28-year-old righty has done a respectable job filling the injury-related void in Miami’s rotation, but he’s not exactly a relevant fantasy option since he offers almost zero strikeout potential. He’ll take the ball against the Giants on Sunday to wrap up a two-start week.

It was impressive, as Phillips managed a 35 percent whiff rate on 23 swings while pounding the zone with 18 called strikes. Michael Petersen came on to strand a leadoff single in the sixth inning to keep Phillips’ 1.86 ERA intact. Since being stretched out as a starter/bulk pitcher, Phillips has allowed zero runs, three runs, three runs, and now zero runs again while allowing just one home run. He’ll face a tough test next week against the Phillies but he’s shown enough to be a potential NL-only league streamer.

Phillips held the Mets scoreless through three innings, then gave up three runs on a walk and three hits in the fourth. He gave the Marlins one more scoreless frame, ending his day after five with two strikeouts. The 28-year-old right-hander will take a 1.63 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, and a 33/19 K/BB ratio across 38 2/3 innings into a start against the Rays in Miami on Friday.

Phillips gave up two hits, walked two and struck out four. The 28-year-old converted reliever threw 59 pitches. Phillips had been excellent out of the bullpen this year and was no different in his first start as he wasn’t scored upon. He now has a 1.07 ERA on the season. Phillips is lined up to face the Mets again next weekend, but isn’t pitching deep enough into games yet to be in fantasy lineups.

Phillips has been outstanding out of the bullpen with a 1.27 ERA in 30 innings over 15 appearances, and Miami is going to give him a chance to help the rotation. The 28-year-old isn’t likely to get deep into contests in his first few attempts, but because of his success, he’s at least worth keeping an eye on.

With Pete Fairbanks hitting the injured list on Tuesday with nerve irritation, Phillips got the call to close out the game in the ninth inning with a 2-1 lead against the Dodgers. He worked around one hit, keeping the Dodgers off the board for his second save. The 28-year-old right-hander has been one of the more consistent arms in the Miami bullpen, posting a 1.47 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, and a 19/12 K/BB ratio across 18 1/3 innings.

Fairbanks heads to the shelf after leaving Monday’s save situation against the Dodgers with a nerve-related issue in his right thumb. There’s optimism he won’t require a lengthy absence, but he’s going to be out until at least mid-May. The logical candidates to handle the ninth inning role in his absence are Calvin Faucher, Anthony Bender and Tyler Phillips. It’ll likely be a closer-by-committee situation.

Fairbanks has Reynaud’s Syndrome, which leads to poor blood flow to his fingers in cold weather, but no word yet if tonight’s issue was related to that. Fairbanks wound up being charged with three runs in one-third of an inning and took his second loss tonight. If he’s forced to the IL, then Tyler Phillips, Calvin Faucher and Anthony Bender could be candidates for saves.