Apr 7, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson (49) walks off the mound during the fifth inning of the game against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park. Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images

Phillies' Pitcher Delivers Fantastic Performance After Strange Start

Originally posted on Philadelphia Phillies on SI
By Nick Ziegler | Last updated Apr 12, 2026 7:00 PM ET

The Philadelphia Phillies hosted the Arizona Diamondbacks in their series finale on Saturday, and despite a weird start to the game, the Phillies saw a strong performance from one of their pitchers.

With the series tied at a game apiece entering Sunday, Philadelphia undoubtedly wanted to get a win and secure a series victory at home. Following a bad ending to their series against the San Francisco Giants, the Phillies saw a three-game losing streak start with a series loss in the first game against Arizona.

Fortunately, even though he might have been struggled in his first two starts, Taijuan Walker pitched really well on Saturday, and the star duo for the Phillies was able to hit back-to-back home runs. This combination helped snap the losing skid for Philadelphia on Saturday.

Entering Sunday, it was expected that young right-hander Andrew Painter was going to be taking the ball for Philadelphia. The top prospect of the organization had mixed results in his first two starts, but he has a ton of talent.

However, just before the game started, Painter was scratched from his start with a migraine. Zach Pop got the ball to start and went two innings before it was none other than Painter warming up to take the ball in the third inning.

Painter Thrives in Strange Circumstances

It was certainly a weird start to the game, but obviously getting some more time helped Painter get over the migraine, and he was good to go to begin the third inning. Overall, the right-hander looked really sharp against Arizona, totaling five innings pitched, one run allowed, while striking out seven batters.

It was certainly an unorthodox way to go about the game, but it ended up working out pretty well for Painter. It isn't uncommon to see teams use a starter and go to a bulk guy afterward. However, this seemed to truly be because of the migraine for Painter.

With three starts under his belt now, Painter has flashed some nice ability in two of the three. As a young pitcher, building consistency will be key, but he did an excellent job of limiting base runners in this game and helped the team out of the bullpen.

With Zack Wheeler hopefully returning at the end of the month, Painter should continue to be a fixture in the rotation going forward. The top prospect for the team has done well and shown enough upside that he clearly belongs in the big leagues now to develop. Even though it was an odd way to start, it was a successful one for the right-hander.

This article first appeared on Philadelphia Phillies on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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