Braves beat Phillies again, but South Jersey’s Tyler Phillips has a good debut in relief

ATLANTA — Shortly before Sunday’s game, Tyler Phillips walked past a group of Phillies fans pressed up against the netting along the third-base line. He stopped for a few minutes to sign baseballs.

“Who are you?” one of them asked.

“It doesn’t matter,” he said.

The rookie pitcher didn’t take offense. Not long ago, he was a shy kid who was too nervous to talk to big leaguers. Now, he was one of them.

Like many young ballplayers in South Jersey, Phillips dreamed of playing major league baseball. He grew up in Lumberton, Burlington County, as a third-generation Phillies fan. He went to games at the Vet and Citizens Bank Park, and played alongside future big leaguers at Bishop Eustace Prep, like the Diamondbacks’ Zac Gallen and the Marlins’ Devin Smeltzer.

Smeltzer and Gallen made their debuts in 2019, but for Phillips, the path was less direct. He is a 26-year-old rookie who has spent seven full seasons in the minor leagues, primarily in the Texas Rangers system. He has weathered injuries, including Tommy John surgery in 2021, and setbacks in his development.

But none of that mattered in the Phillies’ 6-0 loss to the Braves on Sunday afternoon. After two days of waiting in the bullpen, Phillips finally received his call in the fifth inning, and pitched like he belonged. He started his outing by striking out the side in the fifth. This was the heart of the Braves’ lineup — Matt Olson, Marcell Ozuna, and Travis d’Arnaud — but you wouldn’t have known it. Phillips mowed them down on 12 pitches.

He struck out his next batter in the sixth, induced a fly out, and allowed a two-out, solo home run to Eli White. That didn’t rattle him. Phillips bounced back immediately with a strikeout of Jarred Kelenic to end the inning. He allowed just one hit in the seventh, and one in the eighth, finishing his day with seven strikeouts.

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“I hate every single hitter that I face,” Phillips said. “Doesn’t matter what team they’re on, doesn’t matter who it is. I know the tension, the rivalry that’s going on here. That was a dream come true, to be able to go out there and face the Braves. And to make that my debut with my family in town ... I was very emotional.”

Michael Mercado, who had made his major league debut on June 24, was watching it all from the couch in the visitors’ clubhouse. He was coming off a tough start. Pitching on four days’ rest for the first time in his career, Mercado allowed five earned runs through just 1⅔ innings of work on Sunday. But that didn’t preclude him from feeling excited for his teammate.

“I was really pumped,” Mercado said. “I’m super happy for him. He really deserves it.”

Phillips provided an uplifting story in a game that was otherwise lackluster. Mercado gave up a solo home run to Adam Duvall, a three-run home run to Kelenic, and a solo home run to Olson to give the Braves an early 5-0 lead. He recorded only one strikeout. The Phillies were shut out by the Braves, who took two of three in the series. Their lineup combined for only five hits.

But a rookie with local ties gave them something to celebrate.

“I thought he was fantastic,” manager Rob Thomson said. “Threw strikes. Got ahead of hitters. Slider was good, he landed his curveball. Very efficient. You strike out the first four guys of your career — that’s pretty good. And really good hitters. That was encouraging.”

After the eighth inning, Phillips looked for Brittany Gooch in the dugout. Gooch is the Phillies’ functional rehab coordinator. She guided him through his rehab from Tommy John surgery.

He gave her a hug.

“She was the one who was with me every day through rehab,” he said. “Getting surgery is a tough thing and everybody knows it. Coming back from T.J. is hard to do. I don’t think I would ever imagine being where I am right now, but it’s a credit to myself and all of the people who were along the ride with me.

“I was choked up after the game and I’m still choked up now. I don’t really know what I’m feeling. But I know that the journey has been a long one. [Seven seasons] in the minor leagues is a long time. And I’m finally here.”

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He hopes to stay here. If Phillips keeps pitching the way he did on Sunday, he likely will. Maybe one day, fans will be lined up along the third-base line, pressed up against that netting, calling his name. It’s hard for him to imagine now. But it was hard for him to imagine any of this.

“Unreal,” he said. “I don’t know what else to say.”