Phillies pitcher off to historic start after latest outing

Abel was eventually pulled from the game after Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette hit an RBI triple one out into the sixth inning to tie the game at one. That followed a single from Toronto second baseman Andres Gimenez and a wild pitch that advanced Gimenez to second base before Bichette got to the plate.

The Phillies ultimately lost 2-1 on Wednesday night after Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk had the winning hit.

Despite coming away empty-handed, Abel's performance should not go unnoticed. He pitched 5.1 innings and only gave up three hits and one earned run. He recorded a pair of strikeouts and posted an ERA of 0.79.

That came after he led the Phillies to a 1-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates in his MLB debut on May 18. In that game, he pitched six innings without allowing a single run and struck out nine batters across 84 pitches thrown.

The Phillies (37-24) have lost five of their last six games following Wednesday's affair, but they can still win the series against the Blue Jays on Thursday after splitting the first two games. 

Abel has been exceptional in each of his starts, only for Philadelphia to combine for two runs in both games. Per TeamRankings, the Phillies score the sixth-most runs per game (4.82), so the lack of run support in each of Abel's starts is surprising. 

Considering Pittsburgh and Toronto rank in the bottom half of the league in runs scored and earned run average, it is even more shocking that Philadelphia was unable to be more productive in each of Abel's starts.

Nonetheless, Abel had an exceptional debut and Wednesday night's impressive outing only added to the historic start he has had thus far.