The Los Angeles Dodgers expected to be without Ryan Brasier, Daniel Hudson and Evan Phillips for Tuesday’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, but their de facto closer wound up taking the mound with a 7-6 lead in the ninth inning.
It marked the first time in Phillips’ career he pitched a third day in a row. The appearance didn’t go as planned, with two walks helping the Pirates mount a rally en route to a three-run inning that propelled them to a 9-7 win.
“In the moment, I really felt fine. I think naturally there’s probably some fatigue from third day in a row, travel, this and that,” Phillips said after his second blown save of the season.
“But really felt confident that I could help the team win a ballgame, so it’s really unfortunate we came up short. Things happen. We’ll move right along. It really hurts, without a doubt. Especially after Jonny (DeLuca) hit a big home run. I really felt like that was a momentum shift we needed and I could come in and finish the game for us.
“It just didn’t work out that way tonight.”
Phillips had his string of scoreless appearances snapped at 10 in a row, and the two walks were a season high. The three runs matched the most Phillips has allowed this year, which he previously reached in a 5-0 loss to the San Francisco Giants on April 11.
“I feel like that kind of stuff happens subconsciously,” Phillips answered when asked if the walks were due to being fatigued. “Especially because I really felt good. But naturally, that fatigue is somewhat underlying in a sense, so it’s hard to be aware of.
“It’s a challenge that I accepted and told myself I could be aware but still get through the outing. It just didn’t work out.”
Although the result was not what Phillips or the Dodgers expected, the right-hander found a silver lining in being able to push himself.
“That process started [Monday] night. Getting a win and coming in immediately to do everything I could recovery-wise to at least try to be available,” Phillips explained.
“I know we’re a little short down in the bullpen. Emmet (Sheehan) gave us what he could and Gavin (Stone) picked us up with a couple innings out of the bullpen. I really just wanted to challenge myself to become available to the team if need be. I was called upon, and it just didn’t work out. But I think it’s a good sign I was able to respond that well physically and be available.
“I take a lot of pride in being healthy and being available. I think that’s the No. 1 role for a reliever, is to be available for your team when called upon. I took it as a little bit of a challenge to be ready to go for a third day in a row.
“It really stings it didn’t come out on the right side for us, but I feel proud of myself to be able to do that physically and try to help the team win. Just didn’t get the results we wanted.”
Dave Roberts trusted Evan Phillips
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts historically does not deviate from a planned night off, particularly for a pitcher, but he felt confident in Phillips’ availability after their conversation.
“Talked to him right before the game and he just said he felt great,” Roberts noted. “So I was only going to use him in a save situation. Unfortunately tonight, it just didn’t work out.”
Roberts, did however, allow for the possibility of the 28-year-old not being fully recovered from recent usage.
“I don’t think the stuff, but I think the velocity. I thought after he walked those guys, the stuff started to get better,” Roberts noted. “He got a punch late, so I don’t know if it was workload or whatever, but if the player says he feels good, you’ve got to trust him. And quite honestly, we didn’t have anyone else.”
If not Phillips, the Dodgers would have needed to call on Brusdar Graterol, who has four saves in five opportunities this season.
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