Phillies pitching prospect Griff McGarry dazzled for a second straight start Friday night with Double A Reading, striking out 10 over seven scoreless innings in a win at Altoona.
McGarry has set a season-high in strikeouts two starts in a row, reaching double-digits after whiffing nine over six innings of one-run ball last Saturday.
MLB.com rates McGarry, a 6-foot-2 right-hander with huge minor-league strikeout numbers, as the Phillies' No. 4-ranked prospect.
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McGarry dealt with tightness in his side during the spring and didn't make his season debut until May 5. He built up gradually and didn't get through five innings until his sixth start. These past two starts were his first completing six innings.
In 11 starts with Double A Reading this season, McGarry has a 2.96 ERA with 61 strikeouts and 27 walks in 45⅔ innings. He's allowed just two home runs.
Control is the main hurdle the 24-year-old McGarry will need to overcome to stick in a big-league rotation. He has walked 5.3 batters per nine innings this season and for his minor-league career.
The Phillies began the spring mentioning McGarry and fellow pitching prospect Mick Abel in their fifth starter's battle, but they were distant candidates behind Bailey Falter and Andrew Painter, who went down with an elbow injury after one Grapefruit League start and is expected to undergo Tommy John surgery this Wednesday.
Philadelphia Phillies
It took months, but the Phillies eventually filled that spot with Cristopher Sanchez once he began throwing enough strikes at Triple A and Sanchez has been solid since his mid-June call-up, posting a 2.61 ERA and 0.97 WHIP in six starts.
Dominguez pitches
Seranthony Dominguez (oblique) began a rehab assignment Friday for Triple A Lehigh Valley. He allowed a hit and a walk and struck out two in a scoreless inning, throwing 17 pitches (11 strikes).
Phillies manager Rob Thomson said Dominguez will likely need more than one outing before being reinstated from the injured list. He's been out since June 17.
Song pitches Saturday
Rule 5 draft pick Noah Song is expected to pitch two innings Saturday for the IronPigs. His season-high is 1⅔ innings and 36 pitches.
The Phillies are attempting to build up Song as a multi-inning reliever so that he could fill some sort of role as the final reliever on their 26-man roster. As a Rule 5 pick, Song must be added to the active roster once his rehab assignment ends on July 28 or offered back to his original team (the Red Sox) for $25,000.
Song's fastball was in the 93-94 mph range in an appearance earlier in July but he sat 90-91 in his most recent outing Tuesday. This is his first and only foray into pro ball since making seven starts in Low A in 2019 prior to spending four years in the Navy.