There weren’t many bright spots for the Phillies week or Tanner Banks. He carries a 5.59 ERA and is probably too on the current depth chart because of their injuries (more on this later).

But he put together a fun three pitch sequence to Seiya Suzuki for a called third strike.

He pinpointed an up and in cutter for a called strike, Suzuki sort of backed up a because of the movement.

JT calls for a fastball in, Suzuki looks ready for a fastball in but sometimes missing your spot can be a good thing. Thats what happens here and Banks gets a whiff.

It’s 0-2 and Banks has struggled to get right handed hitters out. He has allowed a .727 OPS against right handed hitters for his career.

Suzuki knows this, so it’s fair to assume Banks is looking for chase. Especially if the ball starts down, it’s probably going to be a backfoot sweeper right?

Nope.

The looking strikeout on a fastball down the middle is one of my favorite little things in the sport. It’s easy for anyone, from the brightest in the game to the casuals who watch a handful of games a year. They might all think “that was right down the middle”.

Bullpen injuries

While the offense has caught headlines and the starting rotation has struggled during their eight game losing streak, the bullpen injuries have begun hurting them. Zach Pop, Jonathan Bowlan, and Jhoan Duran are currently on the injured list.

Take that Banks game for example, he faced five straight right handed hitters at the top of the Cubs order because there aren’t many other options with the bullpen injuries.

On Sunday night against the Atlanta Braves, Andrew Painter can’t an out in the fifth so the club has to call on Tim Mayza, who signed a minor league deal during the off-season. Thomson leaves him in because of how thin the depth is and Ozzie Albies made them pay.

Or it’s just trying to come up with an opener for Taijuan Walker. They go with Kyle Backhus, so Craig Counsell moves Michael Busch down to the five hole to stack the top of the order with righties. They ended up scoring a first inning run.

Jonathan Bowlan could’ve played a key role in at least two of those games as a viable middle of the bullpen option for Thomson. Not having Jhoan Duran to close games out means that Brad Keller can’t even be considered until the 8th or 9th inning.

Rotation Depth

The Phillies released Taijuan Walker before Thursday’s finale against the Chicago Cubs in Wrigley after he had an ERA over 9 in five appearances, either as a starter or as a bulk reliever to follow an opener. There is no clear-cut number six option at this point.

Alan Rangel is the most likely option at this point. He pitched in mop-up duty against the Cubs Wednesday night and looked serviceable. He got the fastball for strikes and showed off a promising changeup, even if the control of it was shaky. In three innings, Rangel struck out five and allowed only one run.

Rangel was also performing like the best Lehigh Valley IronPigs starter by a wide margin. There are a few notable other options because of previous MLB experience but there probably isn’t anyone to stabilize the fifth spot if required.

Jean Cabrera has an ERA over 9 with a 12.3% walk rate, Tucker Davidson and Bryse Wilson have ERA’s over 8, and Ryan Cusick is over 5. Unless things change quickly, Rangel is the clear frontrunner if a rotation need arises. It’s pretty bleak.