Orion Kerkering's first batter of 2026 was a cruel reminder of his Phillies past

Over the past few seasons, Orion Kerkering has been one of the more valuable relievers in all of baseball. In particular, he's been a workhorse for the Philadelphia Phillies, taking on 123 innings of work across 133 regular-season appearances since the start of 2024.

So, when news broke that the right-hander was returning to the fray after missing the start of the 2026 season with a hamstring injury, there was probably a collective sigh of relief in a taxed bullpen.

Unfortunately, the baseball gods chose to welcome Kerkering back to the fold with one of the cruelest plays imaginable.

At least neither of the runs he allowed counted against his ERA, right?

Orion Kerkering deserved much better than his welcome back in 2026 Phillies debut

Kerkering's final line featured one hit and one walk (plus the two unearned runs that scored following Rafael Marchán's errant throw), but the underlying data on his appearance was encouraging. As he's wont to do, he avoided barrels flawlessly, leading to his usually impressive contact quality numbers.

There's slight reasons for concern, seeing as his velocity was slightly down and he wasn't inducing a ton of whiffs, but in a one-inning sample after a pitcher returns from injury, nearly any data point is just noise. It'll take a while before Kerkering settles back in and stabilizes in the range of his career norms.

What is worth focusing on is that first play he was involved in. We all know the now-infamous postseason gaffe from last year, when Kerkering panicked during a pressure situation, made the wrong decision, and still overthrew his catcher by about 20 feet. Any further rehashing of that situation just beating a dead horse at this point.

However, it's evident that the play had a lasting effect. Facing Heliot Ramos as the first batter of his season debut, Kerkering coaxed the right-handed batter into a swinging bunt right in front of home plate. If you watch the play closely again, it's clear that the pitcher had a better angle to the ball (and much simpler throw to first base), but he was deferential to his catcher in what proved to be an error wrought by miscommunication.

This probably (hopefully) isn't going to be a Sam Darnold seeing ghosts situation, where Kerkering loses any ability to be decisive when a ball is hit toward his vicinity. This play, in particular, was difficult because the ball slowly rolled out to a point roughly halfway between the mound and home plate. Nearly any other pitcher would have struggled in that moment, especially after spending time on the injured list with a hamstring injury.

But maybe let's keep an eye on Kerkering's glove work over the course of the season. Better he makes his errors now than in October.