Three weeks after being removed from the Phillies’ starting lineup, Taijuan Walker is back with another chance to salvage a dismal season when he faces the Mets on Thursday.
Walker is eligible to start after impressing Rob Thomson with three scoreless relief innings he threw in Saturday’s 6-4 win over the Mets.
I’m not holding my breath: Thomson is forced to consider Walker again after unsuccessfully testing three other pitchers at that 5th spot just before the postseason.
The regression in Walker’s game is noticeable.
According to Statcast, his expected ERA is 6.55, which is in the bottom 1 percent of all pitchers.
In his last start on August 28, the Phillies were crushed 10-0 after Walker allowed 13 hits and six earned runs in as many innings.
He has struck out two batters in his last 14 innings, the lowest strikeout rate per nine innings of his career.
At the other end of the spectrum, he faces Luis Severino, who is having a renaissance season.
He has gotten his pitch-tipping issues under control while regaining confidence in his fastball, which has taken hitters out of the game nearly three percent more often than he did in his miserable 2023, according to Statcast.
In five starts since his complete shutout game against the Marlins, Severino has a 2-0 record and a 3.07 ERA.
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He wants to correct the two home runs and three earned runs that the Phillies allowed him in the no-decision game on Saturday.
Now Severino returns to face them confidently at Citi Field, where he has found much of his success, with a 2.86 ERA there – nearly two runs less than his away ERA.
Walker regained some confidence out of the bullpen, but Thomson’s move back to him is a desperate move that Severino’s rhythm knows how to exploit.
THE GAME: Mets Moneyline (-135, DraftKings)
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Sean Treppedi rates NFL, NHL, MLB and college football for the New York Post. He focuses primarily on picks that reflect market value while tracking trends to minimize risk.
