How José Alvarado regained a feel for his cutter in helping the Phillies to a win over the Brewers

MILWAUKEE — In a handful of appearances since returning from the injured list last month, José Alvarado didn’t throw as many cutters.

It made the Phillies’ big lefty easier to hit.

Alvarado strayed from the cutter Friday night and served up two hits and two walks to five batters in a 7-5 loss to the Brewers. He’s a two-pitch pitcher, so if he eliminates the cutter, hitters are able to sit on the sinker, no matter how hard he throws it.

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It was notable, then, that Alvarado unleashed 12 cutters out of 17 pitches in the eighth inning Sunday, using it to record strikeouts of Milwaukee’s Tyrone Taylor and Andruw Monasterio in a 4-2 victory.

The difference: a change to the grip that caused Alvarado to get a better feel for the pitch.

“We kind of stayed away from [the cutter] the other day because it was a little flat,” catcher J.T. Realmuto said. “He worked on his grip a little bit and said it felt better. We threw it a few times early. It looked really good, and we stayed with it.”

Alvarado was the most dominant reliever in baseball during the second half of last season and in April of this year. But he went on the injured list in May and again in July with elbow inflammation.

Neither Alvarado nor manager Rob Thomson are concerned that the hard-throwing lefty is skittish about throwing his cutter. But it would only be natural if it’s in the back of his mind. Fellow reliever Seranthony Domínguez conceded recently that he thought about reinjuring himself when he first came back from a triceps strain last season and a strained side muscle earlier this year.

“He needs to throw his cutter,” Thomson said of Alvarado. “I mean, the velocity’s there. He’s healthy. He just doesn’t have a feel for it right now. If you don’t have a feel for it, you’ve still got to throw it.”

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That’s what Saturday’s grip adjustment was all about. Because the Phillies need both Alvarado and Domínguez to round into form before the postseason.

The bullpen has been a strength throughout the season. And while the Phillies like their depth, with the emergence of righty Jeff Hoffman (2.53 ERA in 42 games) and the versatility of lefty Matt Strahm (3.23 ERA in 45 games), they have leaned heavily in the late innings on lefty Gregory Soto and closer Craig Kimbrel.

“The cutter has always been a pretty good pitch for me,” Alvarado said through a team interpreter. “I have plenty of confidence in that pitch. It might not be as sharp as it usually is. I’m coming back from this injury, but I’m not even thinking about it. I’m getting on the mound, trying to get the job done. I have no doubts in that pitch.”

Although the Phillies will use a six-man rotation through at least the Sept. 11 doubleheader, they moved up Zack Wheeler to start Wednesday in San Diego in order to avoid having him go a full week between starts.

“He just felt like if he had to wait until Friday, it would be a little too long,” Thomson said.

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Wheeler doesn’t much like extra rest. He has a 2.08 ERA in eight starts on four days’ rest compared with a 4.18 mark in 15 starts on five days’ rest and a 4.94 ERA in four starts with six or more days’ rest.

Cristopher Sánchez, who was lined up to pitch Wednesday, will instead start at home Friday night against the Miami Marlins. Aaron Nola and Ranger Suárez are in line to start Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

Trea Turner extended his hitting streak to 14 games with an infield single in the sixth inning. He has at least one hit in 25 of the last 27 games. ... Turner is the third player since 2008 to begin a season with at least 25 stolen bases without getting caught, joining Carl Crawford (30-for-30 in 2009) and Jimmy Rollins (25-for-25 in 2008). ... Thomson cited the pitching matchup as the main reason for choosing Cristian Pache over Johan Rojas in center field. While neither had previously faced Brewers starter Wade Miley, Pache was 15-for-37 (.405) with two homers against lefties compared to Rojas’ 13-for-43 (.302) with no homers. Pache went 0-for-1 with two walks. ... Taijuan Walker (14-5, 4.05 ERA) is scheduled to start Monday in San Diego against Padres lefty Rich Hill (7-13, 5.26).