Phillies react to José Alvarado’s suspension, big win over Paul Skenes, Pirates
PHILADELPHIA — Manager Rob Thomson addressed the Phillies roster in the home clubhouse at 11:30 a.m. to deliver the news of the morning: left-hander José Alvarado, the team’s best reliever, was suspended for 80 games after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance. Additionally, he will not be eligible for postseason competition, should the club qualify.
On a hectic Sunday morning for the organization, Thomson noticed that Mick Abel, up with the Phillies for his major-league debut in a spot start, looked calm as the manager spoke to the players. The 23-year-old’s poise continued as he tossed six shutout innings, outdueling phenom Paul Skenes and the Pirates in a 1-0 win at Citizens Bank Park. Three Phillies relievers entered to secure a three-game series sweep on their first day without Alvarado.
“After the sad news this morning, it feels really good and gratifying to get through that game and see what Mick did and see what the bullpen did,” Thomson said. “They did a great job.”
Abel tied a Phillies franchise record with nine strikeouts in his rookie debut. He fired his fastball at 99 mph in the first inning and limited the Pirates to only five hits and no walks on 84 pitches. The former first-round pick was stunningly effective, taking full advantage of his big-league opportunity.
“I think the adrenaline definitely was pumping up the velo a little bit more,” Abel said. “But, really, I was just trying to go out there and have fun and just enjoy the moment, try to get guys out.”
Although Abel’s pitch count was low, Thomson didn’t consider pushing him for a seventh inning. In fact, he was even a bit surprised to get six out of the young right-hander, but his outing allowed him to keep going.
Philadelphia went to Orion Kerkering for the seventh, Matt Strahm for the eighth and Jordan Romano for the ninth. The bullpen held it down to finish off the win in what Romano called “the best debut I’ve ever seen.”
“Maybe a little added pressure,” Romano said. “It was like: I really got to seal this off for the kid, because he pitched amazing.”
Romano recorded his fifth save of the year as he made his eighth scoreless appearance in a row. The start of this season was a disaster for the veteran reliever, but he has reestablished himself as a go-to arm in high-leverage situations. The Phillies will need that to continue without Alvarado in the fold until August.
‘It’s tough,” Romano said. “Alvy supported me all year, so I’m going to do the same with him. But it’s a big hole to fill in the bullpen. We just have to step up.”
Alvarado has been a popular teammate, a charismatic player and a crucial contributor over the past handful of seasons for the Phillies. Romano called him “our rock down there” in the bullpen. He had a 2.70 ERA in 20 games before his suspension, and his absence puts the club in a rough spot with its limited relief depth.
The trio of Strahm, Kerkering and Romano will only be more key as the season goes on now. Philadelphia could also use a leap from one of its other relievers. Kerkering had the assist on a force out at third and turned a double play in a bit of a shaky scoreless inning on Sunday, but he’s pitched well lately. Strahm had a clean eighth, and Romano struck out the side to end it.
The formula worked against the Pirates, but there’s no doubt that Alvarado’s presence will be missed by the Phillies — in more ways than one.
“It’s like a family member going down with issues,” Kerkering said. “Obviously, you try and be there and support him as much as you can, whether he wants to reach out, or we’ll try to reach out as best we can. But we’ll see what happens next. … It’s sad not seeing his joyous self as we usually do.”
The Phillies (28-18) are rolling right now, but they will still likely need bullpen help at the trade deadline, if not earlier. Superstar first baseman Bryce Harper acknowledged that it could be difficult to find a perfect match in a deal for a reliever, since other clubs could demand a haul knowing that the team needs an arm. Still, Harper is confident that the Phillies and president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski will be capable of making a move once it’s required.
“Dave does a good job getting value for value,” Harper said. “But also it’s a tough situation to be in, because teams do know that we’re hurting and we need something.”
For now, all the players on the field can do is produce to their capabilities until some potential reinforcement arrives. It’s not the best position to be in for a club with World Series aspirations. The Phillies will face the consequences of Alvarado using a banned substance throughout the rest of this season, starting with their upcoming series in Colorado against the Rockies that starts Monday.
“Obviously, he took something he wasn’t supposed to and got suspended,” Harper said. “We kind of have to turn the page as quick as possible so we can move on without him right now. Obviously, that’s a big loss for us in our bullpen. He’s one of our best arms down there. We just got to go forward and not really worry about it.”