The Philadelphia Phillies are dealing with another injury concern after Spencer Turnbull was pulled from his start after only three innings in Wednesday’s 6-2 victory against the Detroit Tigers. Turnbull returned to the bench after finishing the inning but was pulled due to pain in his pitching shoulder.
It’s a disappointing situation for Turnbull, who had just reinstated to the Phillies’ rotation after Taijuan Walker was placed on the DL with a blister on his index finger. Turnbull has been solid this season, making seven starts and 17 total appearances, and his workload was expected to rise in Walker’s absence.
Spencer Turnbull’s injury report causes Phillies to rethink rotation plans.
Manager Rob Thomson spoke with reporters after the game and was unsure of Turnbull’s status following his removal from today’s game.
“We’ll find out more tomorrow; he’ll go through more testing. He felt someone grab the back of his shoulder. “We didn’t want to take any chances,” manager Rob Thomson told the media following the game. “He threw a curveball on his second-last pitch and he felt it.”
While Turnbull receives tests on his ailing shoulder, all eyes turn to next Tuesday, when this slot in the rotation will be tested again against the Chicago Cubs. Zack Wheeler, Thursday’s starter, might start, but with a day off on Monday, that seems unlikely. Thomson remarked following the game that they had a solid sense of who will start next Tuesday.
Michael Mercado is the top prospect to get the next start.
Thomson stated after the game that rookie Michael Mercado is the “leading candidate” to start next week, citing his previous experience as a starting pitcher at Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
Mercado was just recalled this week to replace Walker on the 26-man roster, and he made his MLB debut with a scoreless inning in Monday night’s 8-1 win over the Tigers. In his debut, the 25-year-old demonstrated strong mound presence by striking out his first hitter and retiring all three.
With Turnbull out, it appears Mercado will make his debut MLB start next week against the Chicago Cubs on the road. This season, Mercado went 1-1 with a 1.71 ERA, 44 strikeouts, and a 1.14 WHIP in 47 1/3 innings for Lehigh Valley, including 10 starts. With Mercado fully stretched out as a starting pitcher, it makes a lot of sense for the Phillies to give him the ball against the Cubs.
While the Phillies await news on Turnbull’s injury status, they hope Mercado will be the latest unsung hero called up from the minors to make a significant contribution to the team and help keep the Phillies winning baseball games.
Leave a Reply