Phillies have closer candidates while Corey Knebel is shut down as a precaution
Seranthony Domínguez could pitch the ninth inning while Knebel is unavailable to pitch, and Rob Thomson has a number of possibilities.
On Saturday night, as Phillies closer Corey Knebel was warming up for the ninth inning, he felt some tightness in his right shoulder. In the past, he pitched through feelings like that, but on Saturday he decided to let interim manager Rob Thomson know instead. Knebel ended up not going out for the ninth.
Knebel said this was a precautionary measure, a way to avoid a stint on the injured list. Thomson said that there is no structural damage.
“It started tightening up pretty quick, so being overcautious is a good thing right now,” Knebel said. “Boys are doing good, so we’d like to keep that going. The ‘pen is doing good, so we’d like to not have anyone go down.”
Knebel threw on Sunday and told Thomson he felt better. Thomson says he is day to day.
Thomson listed Seranthony Domínguez and José Alvarado, who was recalled from triple-A Lehigh Valley on Sunday, as possibilities who could fill in for Knebel at closer.
“There’s three or four guys that can pitch at the end of the game, depending on where you’re at in the lineup,” Thomson said. “I can’t tell you that Seranthony is definitely going to get the ninth inning, but if his part of the lineup shows up there, it’ll be him.”
Alvarado pitched four innings for Lehigh Valley over four games, allowing no runs, one walk and one hit with five strikeouts. Thomson believed it was the time spent in triple A was the reset that Alvarado needed.
“It just let him breathe a little bit,” Thomson said before the game. “Go down where there’s not a lot of pressure, and just be able to be him and throw strikes, and that’s what he did. He did that fairly quickly and now we’ve got him back. Which is good, he’s a weapon, for sure.”
However, Alvarado pitched the seventh inning Sunday and gave up two runs on two hits and two walks.
The corresponding roster move for Alvarado was to option left-handed pitcher Cristopher Sánchez to Lehigh Valley. Thomson said the team would like Sánchez to get stretched out again.
Updates on Maton, Camargo
Infielder Nick Maton, who was placed on the injured list on June 5 (retroactive to June 4) with a right shoulder strain, will be reevaluated Monday. Utility man Johan Camargo, who was placed on the injured list June 7 (retroactive to June 6) with a right knee strain, hit off a tee and did some throwing Saturday. He hit in the cage Sunday.