PHOENIX – Andrew Painter turned in the best start of his young career and got nothing to show for it Wednesday afternoon.
The rookie right-hander pitched seven shutout innings and gave up just two hits in a 1-0 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Painter left a scoreless game after seven innings and 93 pitches. Reliever Jonathan Bowlan allowed a home run to James McCann on the first pitch he threw in the bottom of the eighth inning for the game’s only run.
The Phillies mustered only three hits on the day against seven Arizona relievers. Arizona only had three hits, as well. One of them just landed over the wall.
All in all, it was a solid trip for the Phillies. They won six of nine games and took over the lead in the NL wild-card race. They return home Friday night for a first-place showdown with the NL East-leading Atlanta Braves.
Since returning from his Triple A makeover, Painter has a 3.12 ERA in seven starts.
Painter relied mostly on his fastball, changeup and sweeper. The fastball reached 98.7 mph and averaged 96.3 mph. The changeup produced six swing and misses and four strikeouts. Painter was economical. He threw 93 pitches and recorded a first-pitch strike against 18 of 24 hitters. He did not walk a batter.
More coming…