This story was excerpted from Todd Zolecki’s Phillies Beat newsletter. Michael Reynolds filled in on this edition. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
The Phillies, at 22-8, have the best record in the Majors since Aug. 1. For a team to put together that kind of run, it needs contributions from up and down the roster.
“I’ve said it all along: The big boys have to carry us. The aircraft carriers have to be the ones having big years,” manager Don Mattingly said. “But then you’re going to need a lot of other guys having good years. Good teams don’t have just one or two guys doing well.”
And the Phillies have had that in spades.
Bryce Harper, Alec Bohm and Bryson Stott have all been on a tear, all while adjusting to new positions. Role player Edmundo Sosa recently homered in back-to-back games. The rotation has been electric, and Jhoan Duran and the bullpen have finished the job.
With all the starpower on this roster, you’d be forgiven if you overlooked the contributions of rookie right-hander Alex McFarlane, the No. 13 Phillies prospect who’s been quietly putting in some key innings since rejoining the bullpen in earnest on Aug. 11.
The 25-year-old made his biggest splash to date in Monday’s win in Arizona when he took over for Aaron Nola with a 2-1 lead with two on and none out in the sixth inning. McFarlane retired three straight D-backs, but it was his strikeout of eight-time All-Star Nolan Arenado that had the clubhouse buzzing.
“That’s pretty special, right there. It’s pretty awesome,” Nola said. “I left him in a tough spot to come in, two guys on and nobody out. He navigated through it really, really nice. I mean, the strikeout of Arenado was pretty awesome. He’s got a lot of composure out there, doesn’t really pitch like a rookie.”
With only one out and down 3-1 in the count, McFarlane blew a 99.4 mph fastball by Arenado to run the count full. Conventional wisdom says a rookie will likely go fastball again with the next pitch, not wanting to load the bases with a walk, but catcher Garrett Stubbs had a different idea.
He called for a sweeper, a new pitch for McFarlane this season, and the rookie delivered. It caught more plate than Stubbs wanted, but it locked Arenado up for a big strike three.
“I’ll tell you what,” Stubbs said, “for a kid who debuted a month ago or whatever it was, the demeanor that he’s got on the mound in a situation like that is pretty incredible. …
“Just a really good pitch by a kid who was in there to make sure that we got through that inning.”
McFarlane, who became just the 16th player (fifth pitcher) born in the U.S. Virgin Islands to appear in a game when he debuted on July 22, has posted a 0.87 ERA over his first 10 appearances. He’s relished the opportunity to take on some of the baseball legends he grew up watching.
“[Facing Arenado] was great. That’s kind of been my story the whole season is facing those big guys,” McFarlane said. “Just seeing him in the box is a great thing. Obviously, the amount of respect I have for that guy, just watching him over the years. He’s a great hitter and a [no-doubt] Hall of Fame player.”
Arenado appreciated the compliment but not the strikeout.
“I think it’s always cool to hear stories like that. It means a lot, you know. But he beat me, so I’m not quite happy about it,” Arenado said with a laugh. “But I do respect the way he carried himself, and he’s got an electric arm. He seems like he’s gonna be a problem.”
McFarlane credits his teammates down in the bullpen for his quick adjustment to the big leagues and his early success.
“I’m just doing what this bullpen has been helping me out with the whole season,” McFarlane said. “Just breathing, and slowing down, and understanding that you can just trust your stuff in the zone and not letting the moment speed up on you too much. …
“The whole bullpen, those guys are great, just a lot of veteran experience. They’ve helped me throughout this whole process, and a lot of the stuff I can do out there is attributed to them, too.”