The Phillies made a roster move ahead of Monday’s series opener at Dodger Stadium, calling up left-handed pitcher Bailey Falter from Triple A and optioning right-hander Enyel De Los Santos to Lehigh Valley.
This is Falter’s second call-up. He appeared in a game at Coors Field in late April and allowed two runs in two innings.
Falter, a starter in the minors, is expected to be paired with Spencer Howard Monday night and/or in the near future. Howard got the start against the Dodgers but is yet to record an out in the fifth inning of a game this season. He has been piggybacked with left-hander Ranger Suarez, but Suarez has been so good that he can’t simply be saved for Howard’s day in the rotation. Suarez has appeared in two games since Howard’s last start, both in the seventh inning or later, and pitched four innings.
Falter is a 24-year-old lefty the Phillies drafted out of Chino Hills HS in California in the fifth round in 2015. He had a 1.82 ERA in seven appearances (six starts) with the IronPigs. He could be an interesting deceptive left-handed complement to Howard’s harder stuff from the right side.
When healthy, the Dodgers are as good as it gets from the left side of the plate, but the Phillies are catching them at an opportune time. Corey Seager remains out with a hand fracture, Cody Bellinger is out Monday with a hamstring injury and Max Muncy was placed on the IL last week with an oblique strain.
The Phillies carried a four-game winning streak into Los Angeles. Here was their lineup for Game 1 of 3 against Dodgers righty Tony Gonsolin, who is making his second start after beginning the year recovering from a shoulder injury:
1. Odubel Herrera, CF
MLB
2. Jean Segura, 2B
3. J.T. Realmuto, C
4. Bryce Harper, RF
5. Rhys Hoskins, 1B
6. Andrew McCutchen, LF
7. Alec Bohm, 3B
8. Ronald Torreyes, SS
9. Spencer Howard, P