Who’s the closer? Any worries?

After a month of the season, Phillies’ fans already are on edge about who will be their closer for the remainder of the season.

Jordan Romano, who was signed as a free agent after spending last season with Toronto, hasn’t been the answer. Through his first 12 games, Romano had a 12.19 ERA and one save in 10 innings with two blown saves.

The Phillies may continue to regret letting Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Estevez walk away in free agency.

Getting nervous yet? You may be, especially with the rise of the Mets with their again surprising pitching staff and the apparent rise of Juan Soto.

In this week’s version of my Behind the Plate column, I will look at the Phillies’ closer situation as well as the state of the club after one month. In addition, I’ll recount a former Palmerton product who played at the Double-A level, as well as rehash some baseball ancedotes.

Who’s the Savior? ... Romano was injured part of last season, and only inked a one-year deal with the Phillies. He had a 6.59 ERA last season in only 15 games with eight saves, but he is a strikeout pitcher. The Phils would still like for him to emerge in the role.

With Romano’s struggles, Jose Alvarado has stepped into the role and has been impressive with five saves and a 1.84 ERA. Matt Strahm also has been plugged into it, and gained a save. Orion Kerkering saw some time, but he had two blown saves. Tanner Banks could also slide into the role.

There has been plenty of chatter about the Phils being in the running for Cards’ closer Ryan Helsley, who will be coveted by several teams. Helsley saved a league-high 49 games last season, and the 30-year-old right-hander is on a one-year, $8.2 million deal.

In his first 10 appearances, Helsley saved four games for scuffling Cardinals. However, his asking price could be high and involve top prospects pitcher Andrew Painter or shortstop Aidan Miller.

A Difference a Year Can Make ... The Phillies recently hit the one-month pole May 1 with a 17-14 record and four games behind the Mets, a slight drop from their 21-11 slate last season. Last year, they were a half game behind the Braves, who were 20-9.

Also last year, the Phils hit .258 with 31 homers and 131 RBIs after the first month, and this year, they hit .251 with 27 homers and ironically had 131 RBIs.

Ranger Suarez was the National League Pitcher of the Month for April 2024 with a 5-0 record and a 0.75 ERA, while this season he will make his first start Sunday against the Diamondbacks after being sidelined with back stiffness.

Individually, Bryce Harper finished April with five homers, 16 RBIs, and a .235 average with 26 strikeouts, while he had six homers, 18 RBIs and a .245 average with 20 strikeouts in 2024.

Much-maligned Brandon Marsh has battled slumps and injuries, was hitting .095 with a homer, five RBIs. He hit .234 with six homers, eight RBIs, and 18 strikeouts last season.

Alec Bohm, another Phillie under fire, has a line of zero, nine, .222, and 22 strikeouts, as opposed to .243, one, 17 and 13 last year.

With most of the Phillies struggling, one positive has been Bryson Stott, who was hitting .286, with two homers, 15 RBIs, and 24 strikeouts. Last season, Stott was hitting .200 with three homers, 12 RBIs, and 16 strikeouts.

Trea Turner is off to a good start again with a .298, 1-11-24 line, where last year he hit .361 with two homers and five RBIs with 21 strikeouts.

Last season, May was the Phils’ best month at 20-7. They followed that with a 15-11 June before their summer swoon.

There are several parallels between the last two years, and it will be interesting to see how the Phils respond in May.

New Kids on the Block ... The Phils believe Jesus Luzardo has the potential to be a front-line starter, and has shown it coming off an injured season. He threw a seven-inning, two-hit, eight strikeout gem against the Dodgers to pick up one of his three pre-May wins.

Luzardo didn’t give up more than three runs in his first six outings this season, and had a 3-0 record with a paltry 1.85 ERA with 41 strikeouts in 36 innings over six starts.

Max Kepler hit well in the team’s first five games, but he slumped throughout most of April. He finished with a .238 average with two homers and six RBIs in the month and began May with a .253 clip. Kepler hit a career-high .263 with the Twins in 2023.

Scrapbook ... Each week, I’ll recall a local product who advanced his career past high school.

Mike Sander was a Palmerton standout before he moved on to Chipola College in Florida. From there, the right-hander transferred to the University of Alabama, where he pitched his sophomore and junior years. In his junior year, Sander was 8-4 with a 3.78 ERA in 23 games.

Sander then joined the Orioles’ organization and pitched for Newark of the short-season New York-Penn League in 1987, where he was 9-4 with a 3.40 ERA. The following season, Sander advanced to the High-A Hagerstown Suns of the Carolina League and posted a 14-11, 3.65 mark over 26 starts in 27 games.

He then was elevated to Double-A Hagerstown of the Double-A Eastern League, where he spent his final two seasons. Overall, Sander was 14-16 with a 3.57 ERA in 70 games (16 starts) in two seasons at Hagerstown.

Sander also spent three years with the Quakertown Blazers of the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League.

Time Passages ... Each week, I’ll look back at a former player, team or game situation from our favorite pastime.

Do you remember Dave Kingman?

Nicknamed “Kong” for his basketball-like 6-6, 210-pound lanky frame, he was one of baseball’s colorful characters in the 1970s and 80s, known for his long home runs and strikeouts. He also was a baseball traveler, playing for seven teams in 16 years.

Kingman was a pitcher and outfielder at the University of Southern California, where he was 11-4 with a 1.38 ERA in 1969. He began his career with the Giants in 1971, where he spent four years before he was purchased by the Mets in February of 1975.

With the Mets, Kingman played 664 games, hit 154 homers (sixth all-time for the Mets), drove in 389 runs (18th), and struck out 672 times (11th). He had the most homers as a Met lifetime against the Phillies (40).

Kingman led the league with 48 homers and 131 strikeouts with the Cubs in 1979, and also in 1982 with 37 homers and 156 strikeouts with the Mets. He also had a league-high 105 strikeouts with the Mets in 1981.

Through the years, Kingman also played for the Yankees, Padres and A’s. Overall, Kingman hit 442 home runs, had 1,210 RBIs and struck out 1,816 times. Never known for his batting average, Kingman hit .236 for his career, his best season a .288 average with the Cubs in 1979.

Bombing the Phillies ... While Kingman has the most homers by a Met against the Phils, here is the list of the top five players all-time with the most homers against the Phillies: Ernie Banks and Mel Ott (82), Hank Aaron (76), Barry Bonds (64) and Eddie Matthews (62).

The post-70s top five players are Andre Dawson (51), Chipper Jones (49), Gary Carter (45), Mark Piazza and Willie Stargell (44), who had the longest homer in the Vet in 1971. I was there to see Stargell hit it, and didn’t realize it at the time. Also, I wish I still had the scorecard.

Bad Breaks ... On May 2, 1970, Phillies catcher Tim McCarver and Mike Ryan both suffered broken finger injuries, and they were both sidelined for five weeks.

Facing the Giants, McCarver suffered a broken right finger when he caught a foul tip off the bat of Willie Mays, and two innings later Ryan incurred a broken left finger when it was injured on Willie McCovey’s slide at the plate. Utility man Jim Hutto finished the game behind the plate.

McCarver didn’t return until Sept 1, but Ryan was back July 6. In the interim, Triple-A catcher Mike Compton was recalled, and he shared time with Del Bates and bullpen coach Doc Edwards.

The Phils lost the game, 7-1, at Candlestick Park, but they were off to a decent start at 10-11. They finished the season in fifth place with an overall 73-88 record.

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