This time around, the Phillies’ bullpen didn’t implode. And it was on a big stage.

The Phils’ pen allowed three hits over four innings in a 7-1 victory against the Twins in the “Field of Dreams” classic Thursday night.

A day earlier, the Phillies suffered a 7-1 loss in St. Louis, and starter Zack Wheeler lost control in the fifth inning. Lately, Wheeler has had his issues (see below).

Over the past week, the Phillies’ bullpen had a collective ERA of 4.95 over 23.2 innings. The bullpen has played a prominent role in the team’s 10-15 record since the All-Star break, and they have lost six of their first eight series.

In the past few weeks, it became evident that the bullpen had been overworked, mainly due to manager Don Mattingly’s quick hook with his starters. You don’t want to have to see Garrett Stubbs coming into games despite the score.

Here are the numbers since July 1: 29.2 innings pitched, 41 hits, 31 earned runs, 20 walks, 35 strikeouts, 9.40 ERA, and a 2.06 WHIP. Jhoan Duran and Jonathan Bowlan have the lone saves.

They have issued 164 of the team’s 373 total walks.

Ouch!

On paper, the Phillies have one of the game’s most formidable starting trios in Wheeler, Christopher Sanchez and Jesus Luzardo. Aaron Nola has seemed to find his touch again in the past month, but he leads the league in home runs allowed with 29.

But the foursome is not infallible.

With 39 games left to play starting this evening in Minnesota, the Phils have to find a way to piece together a bridge to Duran. Overall, it has been a lackluster performance with an ERA of 4.42, seventh worst in the majors.

One solution could be to extend the starting staff, but Mattingly has been hesitant to do it. Mattingly and pitching coach Caleb Cotham should consider allowing their starters to go beyond 90-100 pitches — especially if they’re apparently in control of their situations.

So, it will come down to the Phillies’ bullpen in its current state.

Not the Same Lefty ... With Duran and Bowlan leading from the right side, the Phillies have been searching all season for help on the left side. Unfortunately, this year’s “Lefty” out of the pen doesn’t draw any comparisons to Steve Carlton.

Phillies’ president Dave Dombrowski worked a deal for Mets left-handed stopper Brooks Raley, and it has worked in his favor. Raley got a bit roughed up, but his outings have resulted in a 2.45 ERA with the Phillies after it was just under 2.00 with the Mets.

Raley should be the Phils’ left-handed specialist down the stretch in the seventh and eighth innings, and they should try and limit Jose Alvarado’s appearances.

In August, Alvarado has an ERA of 9.00 with seven walks and three strikeouts. During July, he posted a 6.30 ERA with 12 strikeouts and four walks, and June saw a slightly better outcome with a 5.91 mark with 20 strikeouts and eight walks.

As a result, Alvarado has an overall 6.14 ERA and a WHIP of 1.59.

With his 44 innings, Alvarado is likely to surpass his total of 61.2 in 2024. His all-time season high is 64 with Tampa Bay in 2018.

Beyond Raley and Alvarado, Tim Mayza has been relatively consistent, but he has had his share of blowups, notably in July where his ERA soared to 8.10.

The Phils did lose left Tanner Banks, but he struggled until he was shut down in early July.

Despite having a productive June stint, Banks never found his groove, ending his year with a 7.14 ERA.

Then there’s lefty Kyle Backhus, who was impressive in April. Part of the Lehigh Valley shuttle, Backhus never regained his form. His ERA skyrocketed to 11.50 in June, sank to 4.50 in July, and then skipped again to 5.21 in August.

Right Of Passage ... Duran and Bowlan have been an effective one-two right-handed punch.

Brad Keller was projected as the righty set-up man, but he didn’t develop as expected and eventually was shelved with an injury. Orion Kerkering started strong, but he has stumbled in the last two months.

In July, Kerkering had a 5.79 ERA with eight strikeouts and eight walks, and it jumped to 6.75 in August. Kerkering also blew two saves in the process.

Caleb Kilian, who came over in the Luis Arraez trade, had a flawless Phillies debut. However, Kilian has been hit hard in his recent outings, and his ERA ballooned to 13.50. Kilian, who I believe can help the club, has landed on the injured list.

Turnpike Traffic ... Like Backhus, others who have logged miles up and down the PA Turnpike from Allentown and Philly and back are Seth Johnson (who has since been traded), Chase Shugart, Max Lazar, Zach Pop (who has since signed with Miami), Nolan Hoffman (also traded), and Trevor Richards (now with the White Sox).

Bucks County’s Lou Trivino was released and brought back, while and Alan Rangle was the emergency fifth starter until Andrew Painter settled in.

Wheels Falling Off? ... In his last four starts, Wheeler has compiled shaky outings. Against Toronto, he issued five walks, the most he allowed in a game since 2019.

During that stretch, Wheeler had a start shortened to two innings by rain to Baltimore and also left after three innings after issuing five runs to Miami.

His ERA over the last four games is 7.74. In fact, Wheeler hasn’t won a game since July 12 when he struck out 10 Tigers. Since the All-Star break, Wheeler’s ERA is 8.14.

Wheeler was shut down in mid-August last season after he threw 149.2 innings, and he tossed 200 innings in 2024.

One baseball insider told me that Wheeler looks tired, and he is likely tired. Wheeler could be experiencing fatigue from his thoracic outlet surgery last year.

Holy Hats ... On Aug. 11, the White Sox hosted a “Pope hat” giveaway providing a replica of Pope Leo XIV’s mitre, the recognized wide-brimmed hat. With more than 38,000 expected in attendance, the club produced more hats for everyone, more than the announced 3,000 for the giveaway.

Pope Leo XIV is an Illinois native and a declared White Sox fan. The White Sox held a Catholic Mass at the stadium last summer.

Little Trust ... In a recent Times News Sports Facebook Poll, the question was posed to readers on how confident they were in the present construction.

Well, an overwhelming 79 percent doesn’t have any confidence in the pen, while 14 percent are somewhat confident about their potential. A dribbling of four percent were very confident.

Readers Write

Walk This Way

Dear Jeff,

This bullpen is one of the worst in baseball. Duran and Bowlan are the only two that have been consistent, and you can count on. The bullpen has way too many walks and can’t hold a lead.

Melissa Hager

Lehighton

Clock Is Ticking

Dear Jeff,

I feel the whole team has struggled since the All-Star break including the bullpen. Alvarado has struggled all season, and Kerkering is definitely having control issues. Duran looked unstoppable early in the season but has looked shaky and tired recently, and may have been overused early in August. The new additions have not looked great either, I would say the one bright spot has been Bowlan in the middle innings. Hopefully they get it figured out soon, they all need to be better if they want to secure that wild card spot.

Ben Thomas

Bethlehem

Scrapbook ... In each column, I will trace back the steps of a former local standout.

Mike Miorelli had a stellar three-sport career at Tamaqua, excelling in baseball, football and basketball.

Miorelli was a three-year starter in baseball and basketball, and he was the quarterback for the football team for two years. He threw for more than 2,500 yards and 22 touchdowns, earning him a scholarship to the University of Delaware. Miorelli also became the second Tamaqua athlete to receive the Schuylkill County Scholar Athlete award winner.

However, Miorelli decided to play baseball instead of football at Delaware. He was a four-year letterwinner, starting two years as catcher, and earned All-East Coast Conference honors as an all-star in 1981. Miorelli also had a successful run in the Blue Mountain League and was inducted into their Hall of Fame.

He began a career in journalism that spanned 42 years and ended in 2023 as sports editor of The Morning Call.

Your thoughts are always welcomed and will be published; email them to tnonline@tnsports.com