Phillies' Don Mattingly Shares Good News on Andrew Painter

The 23-year-old also threw a bullpen session on Saturday.

While Painter's rookie season has featured major lows, he has looked much better since being recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley on July 31.

Despite giving up two runs in the first inning of his July 31 start against the Baltimore Orioles, Painter bounced back with five scoreless innings afterward.

In his most recent start Wednesday against Washington, Painter looked good again before leaving the game after the fourth inning because of left hamstring tightness. Once again, Painter allowed a first-inning run but settled in and pitched three scoreless innings afterward.

Painter's recent starts have been his most encouraging in an otherwise rough rookie campaign. Across 16 appearances (14 starts), the right-hander owns a 1-8 record with a 6.48 ERA and 1.57 WHIP over 75 innings. Painter has recorded 63 strikeouts against 28 walks and given up 15 home runs while opponents are hitting .299 against him.

The Phillies did not acquire starting pitching depth at the trade deadline. With that decision, Philadelphia will move forward with Painter as the No. 5 starter.

"We feel, if we can make it to the postseason, our starting rotation is in really solid shape," Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said. "Other people are looking to add to their top three. In our situation, that really wasn't a necessity. So if we were going to do it and add somebody, they would have had to be significantly better, in our opinion, than Andrew.”

While a plethora of starting pitchers were moved, Philadelphia is confident its rotation can compete with anyone. Still, the numbers don't lie regarding how top-heavy the Phillies' starting rotation is.

In games started by Zack Wheeler, Christopher Sánchez, or Jesús Luzardo, Philadelphia is 47-19. When anyone else starts, the Phillies have gone 15-37.

Aaron Nola has struggled to a 5.47 ERA over 125 innings this season. He also has given up the most home runs in baseball with 29. Meanwhile, Philadelphia's No. 5 starter has been a revolving door for much of the season.

With the trade deadline in the past, the Phillies are counting on the back end of their rotation to improve and for Painter to keep his momentum going.

Heading into Sunday's series finale with the Blue Jays, Philadelphia (62-56) is tied with the Arizona Diamondbacks for the second National League Wild Card. However, the San Diego Padres are on their tail, just a game behind them.

The Phillies will look to avoid being swept by Toronto on Sunday at 1:35 pm ET with Luzardo on the mound.