Phillies option struggling pitcher Bailey Falter to triple A for a ‘reset’

SAN FRANCISCO — After allowing a one-out error to mushroom into a six-run second inning Monday night, struggling Phillies starter Bailey Falter was asked how he can turn around his season.

“I do not know,” he said.

How about a trip to the minors?

The Phillies demoted Falter on Tuesday to triple-A Lehigh Valley, a move that manager Rob Thomson described as “just a reset.” They called up reliever Erich Uelmen to take Falter’s roster spot but remain undecided on how they will replace him in the starting rotation Sunday.

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“Go down there, get outs, get some confidence, you know?” said Thomson, who broke the news to Falter when he got to Oracle Park for the continuation of a three-game series against the Giants. “That’s really what it’s all about.”

Falter is 0-7 with a 5.13 ERA in eight games. The 26-year-old lefty has allowed 50 hits and recorded only 28 strikeouts in 40⅔ innings. He has given up at least four earned runs in three of his last six starts.

The Phillies tried to come up with creative ways to help Falter. They skipped his last turn in the rotation in the hopes that additional rest would bring about more zip on his fastball. (It didn’t.) They also used an opener Monday night to mitigate Falter’s first-inning troubles and enable him to face the top of the Giants’ order one less time.

Falter struck out Brandon Crawford to bail Connor Brogdon out of a first-inning jam. But he came undone in the second inning, giving up four consecutive hits after second baseman Bryson Stott’s rare error.

“At that point, you’ve got to take it upon yourself to get out of it,” Thomson said. “Bear down and just battle and get outs and minimize the damage as best you can.”

Instead, Falter became the first Phillies pitcher to lose his first seven decisions in a season since Jerad Eickhoff in 2017.

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Falter’s problems are familiar: He doesn’t get enough swings and misses.

When the season began, Falter’s biggest challenge seemed to be finding an out pitch against right-handed batters. But lefties actually were hitting him the hardest, with a .394/.412/.667 batting line. Michael Conforto, one of two left-handed hitters in the Giants’ lineup Monday night, ambushed a first-pitch slider for a three-run homer in the second inning.

It has been harder to get whiffs with a diminished fastball. Falter’s heater averaged 91.2 mph last season, when he pitched well down the stretch in place of injured Zack Wheeler. This season, it’s averaging 90.5 mph, including 90.4 mph against the Giants.

“I think the more stuff that he can present, the more swings and misses that he can get, I think he’s going to have more success,” general manager Sam Fuld said. “But really, it’s just not letting innings spiral negatively.”

Indeed, both Thomson and Fuld indicated that Falter could be better at handling adversity. When hits began to fall in, he allowed innings to snowball.

“A lot of it has to do with confidence,” Thomson said. “Everybody loses confidence at some point and goes through a little bit of a slump. Sometimes you need a little bit of a reset.”

The Phillies don’t need a fifth starter until Sunday at home against the Cubs. One option, according to Thomson: Patch together nine innings from the bullpen. Left-hander Matt Strahm isn’t an option to start, but could be used as a “bulk pitcher” if the Phillies deploy an opener.

Uelmen, 26, had a 1.04 ERA and five strikeouts in 8⅔ innings for Lehigh Valley. The Phillies acquired him for cash in an offseason deal with the Cubs. He has a 4.67 ERA in 25 major-league appearances, all last season with Chicago.

If the Phillies do call up a pitcher to start Sunday, Thomson said it’s “a good chance it would be somebody off the [40-man] roster.”

Follow the trail of bread crumbs and you find ... Noah Skirrow.

Skirrow, a 24-year-old right-hander, gave up five runs on six hits in 3⅔ innings Tuesday night in Worcester, Mass., to hike his ERA to 4.46. But it marked the first time in seven triple-A starts that he allowed more than three runs. He has been Lehigh Valley’s most consistent pitcher, outdoing 40-man options Cristopher Sánchez and Michael Plassmeyer.

“I think he deserves a lot of credit for how he’s come along,” said Fuld, who noted Skirrow’s improved slider and changeup. “He’s been really impressive so far. He’s been a little under the radar, but, to his credit, he’s just continued to compete, take the ball.”

Thomson and Fuld described Skirrow as a “strike thrower.” But Skirrow has another thing going for him.

“He’s Canadian,” Thomson, proud Canadian, said with a laugh. “So you know he’s tough.”

Right-hander Nick Nelson, another “bulk innings” option, went on the triple-A injured list with a strained left gluteal muscle, near the buttock. But Thomson said Nelson has resumed playing catch and could be back after the minimum seven-day term. ... Taijuan Walker (3-2, 5.75 ERA) is scheduled to start the series finale at 3:45 p.m. ET Wednesday.