QUEENS, N.Y. — Francisco Alvarez tagged an Andrew Painter fastball that caught the outer edge up and away.
The three-run homer put New York ahead 4-3 in the fifth, one half-inning after the Phillies had taken the lead.
Philadelphia had grabbed the momentum in its eighth-to-last game of the regular season. Painter watched it fly over the wall.
Before Alvarez even reached home plate, Painter was already back on the rubber, hands held high near his face and eyes locked toward home.
A frustrating moment for the rookie in the Phillies’ 10-3 loss to the Mets on Saturday at Citi Field.
His next pitch was his hardest of the night at 99.4 mph, which Ronny Mauricio fouled away. Painter then battled Mauricio for nine pitches before striking him out with a changeup.
He followed by striking out Francisco Lindor for the second time, then Juan Soto to end the inning.
Don Mattingly sent Painter back out for the sixth, where he struck out Bo Bichette. With left-handed hitter Carson Benge coming up, Mattingly went to the bullpen.
On the surface, there was plenty to like. Painter struck out seven and walked one. His four-seam fastball had plenty of life.
But the issue that has followed him throughout his rookie season showed up again.
All four runs he allowed came on home runs.
IN BUNCHES
When Painter has allowed homers lately, they have tended to come together.
In the nine starts since his July 31 return to the majors, Painter has allowed six home runs. All six have come across three multi-homer outings.
Location was the biggest issue early in his season, particularly before his demotion. The pitch to Alvarez was different.
Painter got the fastball elevated and on the outer part of the plate, but with two runners aboard and a need to throw strikes, Alvarez appeared ready for it.
Home runs have accounted for 48 percent of the 75 earned runs Painter has allowed this season.
His 1.48 homers allowed per nine innings ranks 20th-highest among 108 starters with at least 20 starts. Before his demotion, he ranked eighth-highest.
Solo homers can be survived.
Three-run shots are much harder to overcome.
HIS ROLE AHEAD?
Mattingly said Saturday that Jesús Luzardo continues to feel better each day, which is encouraging.
But Luzardo still has not thrown a baseball in more than a week.
There are several steps ahead before he could return to a major league mound. He first has to resume throwing, progress to mound work and continue building from there.
With Luzardo looking increasingly unlikely to start early in a potential Wild Card Series, Aaron Nola could be pushed into a possible Game 3 if the Phillies are able to line up their rotation the way they want.
That leaves an interesting question for Painter.
He has started throughout this season and essentially his entire career, but his stuff could make him an intriguing option to bridge a game to the later innings.
Saturday offered another reminder of why the Phillies may need one.
Brooks Raley allowed two runs in the sixth after replacing Painter, extending the Mets’ lead.
Phillies relievers working from the fifth through seventh innings this season have combined for a league-worst 5.28 ERA. It is the club’s highest mark in those innings over a full season, excluding 2020, since 2005.
Painter hasn’t exactly been dominant from the first pitch of every start, either.
But the routine would be different in relief. His ramp-up would be different. His fastball could play up in shorter bursts.
And considering how much the Phillies have struggled in the middle innings, the bar isn’t particularly high.
Jonathan Bowlan’s uncertain status because of his right groin injury only makes the possibility more intriguing.
TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE
It felt like the Phillies had a chance to take control when they went ahead 3-1 in the fifth.
Then Alvarez changed the game.
The Phillies actually went 5-for-10 with runners in scoring position, but still stranded nine.
A large part of the problem came from the bottom of the lineup.
Phillies hitters in the seven-through-nine spots entered the night batting .186 in September, the fourth-lowest mark in the majors.
They haven’t consistently been setting the table for a top of the order that carried the offense for long stretches in August.
There are only eight games left to find an answer.
BOHM’S UNIQUE YEAR
The Phillies got multi-hit games from Trea Turner, Luis Arraez and Alec Bohm.
Bohm has quietly been one of their steadiest hitters for months, which makes it fair to wonder what his season might have looked like without a forgettable first month-plus.
He drove in his 85th run Saturday.
Considering where he started, that’s no small number.
Mattingly gave Bohm a pair of reset days before his two-homer game on May 9. Since then, his production has looked much more like the hitter the Phillies have known in recent seasons.
Over a 162-game pace since May 9, Bohm’s numbers translate to a .280 average, 20 home runs, 57 extra-base hits and 102 RBI.
Sound familiar?
Bohm recorded at least 50 extra-base hits and 97 RBI in both 2023 and 2024.
His regular season has already undergone a significant recovery.
If that carries into October, the way his 2026 season is remembered could look much different — with an interesting offseason still waiting on the other side.
KERKERING KEEPS STRUGGLING
The Phillies went back to Orion Kerkering in the eighth, one night after he allowed a three-run homer to Juan Soto.
There was logic to it. Philadelphia needs Kerkering to get right before the postseason, so why not give him the ball again and a chance to put Friday behind him?
Saturday only made the question more complicated.
Kerkering allowed four earned runs in the eighth as the game turned into a rout. He has now surrendered seven runs in two nights and owns a 17.05 ERA over his last seven outings and a 10.80 ERA over his last 15.
The stuff is still there. The results haven’t been.
And with October approaching, the Phillies have to decide how many more chances they can afford to give him in high-leverage spots.