Another Philadelphia Phillies Reliever Falters As Bullpen Struggles Continue

The bullpen has been a major issue for the Philadelphia Phillies all season long in 2025, and another key member of the group -- Orion Kerkering -- squandered a save opportunity on Tuesday night.

In a wild contest against their National League East division foe Washington Nationals, the Phillies earned a 7-6 win to improve their record to 16-13.

Despite it being the team's third victory in a row, few in the stands or in the clubhouse felt overly positive about the outcome.

"We have to clean it up," manager Rob Thomson told Matt Gelb of The Athletic (subscription required) after the game. "We really do."

Kerkering is another major contributor to this Philadelphia bullpen who has largely performed well in recent seasons, but has faltered in the early portion of this year.

The Phillies rank 29th in all of MLB in reliever ERA, behind only the Nationals, who showed their own struggles when they relinquished their late lead to hand Philadelphia the win.

When the Phillies were ranked 14th in 2024, Kerkering was excellent.

His 2.29 ERA over 64 appearances gave Thomson a reliable and effective option when combined with closer Jose Alvarado.

His 5.56 ERA is a major regression, and it's not due to bad luck.

According to Baseball Savant data, Kerkering has regressed in several major categories.

After occupying the 87th percentile in strikeout rate, 88th percentile in barrels allowed and 86th percentile in hard-hit rate, he's fallen to 39th, 11th and 25th in each of those categories, respectively.

Given the struggles of offseason acquisition Jordan Romano, Kerkering had a major opportunity to show Thomson he could close out a game.

With a 5-2 lead over the Nationals, Kerkering instead allowed a single to CJ Abrams, a double to James Wood and a crushing three-run homer to Nathaniel Lowe to give Washington the lead.

Only one run was charged as earned due to a throwing error by Trea Turner, but Kerkering should have gotten out of that inning unscathed.

The bats rallied to steal the win, and the team's starting rotation has been phenomenal to keep this team afloat and comfortably above .500 despite Philadelphia's bullpen being in shambles.

Those factors will not necessarily remain consistent throughout the year, and the team will need players like Kerkering to find their previous form to help them right the ship.