The Phillies are 20-7 in Taijuan Walker's starts this season. They've won 15 of the last 18 and he has a 3.23 ERA over that span.
Yet still, the question of who would start for them in Game 3 of a playoff series remains open-ended. Monday night was the fourth straight start Walker was unable to get through six innings. He gave up a first-inning home run to Fernando Tatis Jr. and walked two batters in a three-run fourth that started the Padres' comeback attempt.
He allowed four runs over five innings as his ERA reached its highest point (4.15) since mid-June.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Philadelphia sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
"Not the best," Walker said. "We had a big early lead and I feel like today should've been one of those days where I went at least six, seven innings."
The Phils built an 8-1 lead through four innings and held on to win 9-7. The pitching staff walked eight Padres. Free passes have been an issue for Walker — he's walked multiple batters in 20 of 27 starts and has 13 in his last 20⅔ innings.
"Other than the walks, walking into some jams and worked himself out of it," manager Rob Thomson said. "He just competes. There's a reason why he's got 15 wins. He just wills himself."
Assuming the Phillies clinch early enough to set their rotation for the opening Best-of-Three playoff series, Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola would pitch the first two games. They have four candidates to start Game 3 in Walker, Michael Lorenzen and lefties Ranger Suarez and Cristopher Sanchez.
Philadelphia Phillies
One of the reasons the Phillies targeted Lorenzen in particular at the trade deadline was his past experience as a late-inning reliever. He'll be close to 50 innings past his previous career-high by the postseason. For those reasons, he seems likelier to pitch out of the bullpen than Walker, who has very limited experience doing so.
Suarez, too, has experience bouncing between the rotation and bullpen. He was used as a reliever twice last postseason, to close out the NLCS over the Padres and in Game 1 of the World Series in Houston. He could pitch himself into the No. 3 spot with a strong September. Suarez pitched four innings Sunday in his first start back from the injured list. He missed three weeks with a hamstring strain. There could be some value to going with a lefty in Game 3 (if necessary) after using two right-handers. Suarez also has more postseason experience than Walker, who served up four runs in one inning in his only playoff start back in 2017.
Sanchez is the biggest longshot of the group, despite how solid he's been. There's no denying his importance to the Phillies this season, but how well would he have to pitch the rest of September to catapult past the other three starters?
It's also worth mentioning that starts in the postseason are shorter than ever. Whoever does start a Game 3 for the Phillies might be going through the lineup twice before giving way to high-leverage reliever after high-leverage reliever. Couldn't you see Walker or Suarez going four innings with Matt Strahm, Seranthony Dominguez, Gregory Soto, Jose Alvarado and Craig Kimbrel accounting for the final five?
One other consideration with Walker might be how difficult first innings have been for him. He's allowed 21 runs in the opening frame, six more than any other inning. He has a 6.75 ERA in the first inning and a 3.58 ERA thereafter.
"It is important," Thomson said. "I don't know whether we switch up his pregame routine or what. The last couple of weeks we've given up first-inning runs a lot. I don't know what that is, whether it's just a blip on the radar or something in our process we need to change. We'll look at it, for sure."