Phillies’ latest fifth starter experiment fails miserably

The Philadelphia Phillies have been in search of a reliable fifth starter all season following injuries to Taijuan Walker and Spencer Turnbull earlier in the season, coupled with Walker’s ineffectiveness later in the year.

Kolby Allard, Michael Mercado and Tyler Phillips all had their chances at the role but ultimately failed to keep a firm hold of it. As a result, the Phillies have kept experimenting with it, with their No. 15 prospect Seth Johnson being the latest candidate given a shot at the highly-coveted spot.

Phillies’ latest fifth starter experiment fails miserably

However, what should have been an exciting MLB debut for the 25-year-old rookie quickly turned into a nightmare against the Miami Marlins on Sunday. After yielding runs in each of his first two innings of work, Johnson’s day officially came to an end when he failed to get out of the third inning. When all was said and done, he gave up nine earned runs on eight hits with three walks and zero strikeouts in 2 1/3 innings of work. 

It was already bad enough to endure a stat line like that for a major league debut. However, things got even worse when it was learned that Johnson actually made history in the process. According to Paul Casella of MLB.com, he became the second pitcher in MLB history to allow nine or more earned runs and three or more walks without recording a single strikeout in an MLB debut, joining Hanson Horsey of the Cincinnati Reds who last did it in 1912.

Nevertheless, Johnson has at least shown success in the Phillies minor league system after coming over from the Baltimore Orioles at the trade deadline. In five starts, he went 2-1 with a stellar 1.52 ERA and 0.85 WHIP with 22 strikeouts in 23 2/3 innings pitched, thus getting his well-earned promotion for this past Sunday.

It's unlikely that Johnson has earned another start with the Phillies given his disastrous debut. Allard, who at least showed some level of success in his previous stints this year, will become eligible to be recalled from the minors on Sept. 10.

In any event, the Phillies will continue to look for that much-needed consistency for the fifth spot in the rotation as they head into the final three weeks of the season.