The Philadelphia Phillies’ No. 2 prospect and MLB Pipeline’s No. 21 overall prospect, Andrew Painter, didn’t try to sugarcoat his latest rough outing after Thursday’s 12-1 loss to the Athletics at Citizens Bank Park. Following another difficult start that dropped the rookie right-hander to 1-4 with a 6.89 ERA through seven MLB appearances, Painter admitted opposing hitters are picking up on his tendencies too easily.
The 23-year-old gave up eight earned runs on seven hits across 3 2/3 innings as the Athletics avoided being swept in the three-game series. Painter allowed three home runs, all coming on two-strike fastballs, while also walking three batters. During the third inning, interim manager Don Mattingly approached him in the dugout and let him know he could come out of the game if needed, but Painter chose to stay in.
“I think I’m throwing pretty predictable pitches and they’re obviously seeing it well,” said Painter.
The Athletics wasted no time getting started offensively. After Nick Kurtz drew a leadoff walk to extend his on-base streak to 31 games, Shea Langeliers blasted a 412-foot two-run homer. Later in the opening inning, Tyler Soderstrom walked before Brent Rooker launched another two-run shot. In the third inning, Carlos Cortes added an RBI single before Jacob Wilson crushed a two-run homer to make it 7-0 while extending his hitting streak to 11 games.
Painter’s fastball issues remained a major concern throughout the outing. His four-seam fastball and sinker average a combined 96.2 mph, nearly two mph above the league average, yet hitters entered Thursday batting .348 against those pitches. He has generated only 15 whiffs on 160 swings against his fastballs this season, resulting in a 9.4% whiff rate that ranks near the bottom among qualified pitchers. Against the Athletics, opposing hitters produced five hard-hit balls off his fastballs with an average exit velocity of 99 mph.
Statcast metrics have also revealed below-average movement on Painter’s fastballs compared to pitchers with similar velocity and release points. That lack of movement has made it easier for hitters to square him up despite his elite velocity.
Philadelphia’s offense struggled to provide any support outside of Kyle Schwarber, who hit his 12th home run of the season. Athletics starter JT Ginn dominated over eight innings, allowing just one run on four hits while striking out eight batters. Every Athletics starter recorded at least one hit as the AL West leaders finished with 13 hits overall.
The Phillies fell to 17-21 with the loss, though it marked only their second defeat in the last 10 games under Mattingly. Philadelphia will return home Friday to begin a three-game series against the Colorado Rockies.