PHILADELPHIA – For the second straight night, the Philadelphia Phillies will be on a national broadcast looking to snap a four-game skid and being swept by their NL East division rivals in that Atlanta Braves Sunday night at Citizens Bank Park.
Prior to the game, Rob Thomson spoke to the media and provided updates on a trio of players.
The catcher was removed from Saturday night’s loss in the seventh inning with lower back tightness which lingered from a play at the plate during the second inning of Friday night’s game.
The 35-year-old catcher was being evaluated during the manager’s postgame press conference Saturday night and was still being looked at on Sunday.
“He’s still a little sore,” Thomson said. “They are going to check him out and he is available in an emergency.”
Thomson said he didn’t think Realmuto would need an IL stint but would need to wait for the further evaluation to be concluded.
The Phillies’ ace made another rehab start with Double-A Reading earlier today in New Jersey against the Somerset Patriots (Yankees affiliate).
Wheeler’s afternoon didn’t get off to a great start, serving up a leadoff solo home run to Yankees’ top prospect George Lombard Jr.
Wheeler ultimately tossed four innings, allowed six hits, four runs which were all earned, walked a batter, striking out four and allowing a pair of home runs. He threw 77 pitches with the plan for him to throw 90 in the outing, but some long offensive innings by Reading forced Wheeler to sit longer in the cold so they didn't want to push it.
“His curveball was good. It was very cold. He threw 77 pitches, 48 strikes. Considering how cold it was, I thought it was pretty good. His velocity was down a little bit which is understandable considering the conditions, but I thought he looked fine,” Thomson said.
Thomson would not confirm if Wheeler would join the staff next week, but said the righty veteran will have to come back to Philadelphia to discuss with the team.
While Wheeler’s return to the staff is still in limbo, Taijuan Walker is expected to make another start with the team with the team planning to implement an opener due to Walker’s struggles in the opening frame.
No opener has been announced.
“We changed his process the last time so he could start the game. Now, it’s just trial and error. He just has to attack and not get behind in the count.”
This season, the right-hander has given up 11 earned runs on 12 hits in the first inning of his four starts.
“We think he’s going to get better,” Thomson said when asked if he still sees a role for Walker with the big league staff even when Wheeler returns.
The team’s top prospect continues to work his way back from a back injury that has forced him to miss all of Spring Training and starting the season with Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
The shortstop does seem to be making strides.
“He’s now taking ground balls. He’s doing everything except for swinging and we are hoping to get him going this week,” Thomson said.
Miller turned in a fantastic final two months of the regular season last year with Double-A Reading showing off his impressive power and speed combination. With the struggles of Alec Bohm, if healthy, the conversation would be deafening for a callup for Miller if got off to a hot start similar to Felix Reyes.
Instead, the 21-year-old will look to work his way back and get back into the swing of things and build off of his strong finish from a season ago.
