Phillies Manager Defends Decision To Pull Rookie Pitcher Early In Loss To Red Sox

Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Andrew Painter

Phillies Manager Defends Decision To Pull Rookie Pitcher Early In Loss To Red Sox originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Boston Red Sox got a much-needed 3-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday.

Struggling shortstop Trevor Story opened up the scoring for the Red Sox on Wednesday with a solo home run in the second inning, but the Phillies quickly tied things up with a solo shot of their own in the following inning.

Philadelphia had rookie Andrew Painter on the mound, who was surprisingly pulled after five innings, despite having thrown only 62 pitches and allowing one run. Ceddanne Rafaela would pinch hit later in the inning, delivering a two-run home run that gave the Red Sox the lead in their eventual win.

With how well Painter was performing, interim manager Don Mattingly’s decision to go to the bullpen early seems questionable. Though that decision was one of the main culprits for Philadelphia's loss, Mattingly defended pulling Painter despite his success and low pitch count.

“We wanted to be proactive tonight with him,” “ … Get him going, get some confidence, and obviously, he threw the ball really well tonight. Got his command back. I was happy with him, but knowing we need him all year long, just kind of get him building and let him build off a good start.