Andrew Painter has had a lot of success since returning to the Major Leagues on July 31.
In his last three outings, Painter had managed to escape the big inning that had haunted him early in his rookie season. On Sunday afternoon, he was unable to pull off the trick once more.
A first-inning, two-out grand slam by Minnesota Twins third baseman Brooks Lee put Painter and the Phillies down 4-0.
Unlike most starts this season, Painter did not allow this result to shape the remainder of his afternoon. With a taxed bullpen since the second-half started, Don Mattingly was always going to keep Painter in the ballgame to eat innings. While he could have let the game unravel more, he settled in.
The Phillies' rookie finished the game tossing five innings, allowing five earned runs, walking three and striking out two. It was far from his best performance of the season, but overall it was still encouraging to see his growth in uncomfortable situations.
After the fifth inning concluded, the Phillies rewarded their starter for giving them a chance.
In the top of the sixth inning, Minnesota starter Dean Kramer returned for another inning of work.
Kramer had cruised through five innings to this point. However, he started to fall apart.
The Phillies would load the bases before a fielder's choice by Luis Arraez would score Kyle Schwarber, making it a 5-1 ballgame. With two men on, Alec Bohm placed a timely three-run home run in the seats in left field of Target Field.
Bohm capped off a 5-5 performance on Saturday night with this clutch home run. In the series against the Twins, Bohm went 8 for 14 with four doubles and a home run. He raised his batting average from .231 to .242, while increasing his OPS from .653 to .684.
In his last 30 games, Bohm is hitting .310 with a .803 OPS, 21 runs batted in, and three home runs.
After the Phillies tacked on four in the sixth, Mattingly decided to play for a win.
He went with his best arms to try and keep his club in the ballgame. A combination of Tim Mayza, Orion Kerkering, Jonathan Bowlan and Jhoan Duran combined for four scoreless innings in relief.
Duran made his first appearance at Target Field as an opponent, earning his 26th save of the season.
MORE: Bryce Harper vs. Kyle Schwarber: the Phillies’ race to 400 Home Runs
After losing two games in poor fashion to the St. Louis Cardinals, the Phillies salvaged the roadstand with their sweep, going 4-2 for their troubles.
With the win, the Phillies are momentarily in the playoffs once more. They hold a half-game lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks and the tie-breaker over the San Diego Padres.
Philly returns home to welcome the Miami Marlins and the St. Louis Cardinals. They will conclude August with an important road trip. They will head to Anaheim to face the Angels, Seattle to face the Mariners and Arizona to battle the Diamondbacks with massive playoff implications.
