Derek Hill Lifts Phillies to 5-4 Win With Ninth-Inning 2-Run Homer

Q: With a 100 MPH fastball but key homers allowed, is Jonathan Bowlan a future ace or a liability?

Jonathan Bowlan looks much more like a bullpen asset with upside than a liability, but not a future ace in the traditional starter sense. The game against Washington showed the risk: Mattingly used Bowlan for a right-on-right matchup in the sixth, and Bowlan gave up the two-run homer that flipped the lead. He also recently allowed another notable home run to Travis Bazzana. Those moments matter, especially in leverage spots, and they explain why there is still caution around him. But the broader evidence is more encouraging than alarming. Bowlan is 29, has mostly worked as a reliever, and now brings elite velocity, averaging roughly 97.5 mph and touching 100. He has paired that with a new sweeper and a deeper pitch mix, giving him more than just raw arm strength. His underlying numbers point to real progress: improved strikeout rate, sharply better walk rate, a WHIP around 1.06, and an ERA in the high-3.00s with an even stronger expected ERA. Just as important, his home-run vulnerability appears to be improving, with a much lower barrel rate and HR/FB rate than in prior seasons. That makes Bowlan better viewed as a developing high-leverage reliever or multi-inning weapon than as a rotation centerpiece. The occasional costly homer is a real concern, but the trend line suggests those mistakes are not defining him. If his command and secondary pitches hold, the Phillies likely have a useful late-inning arm, not a weak link.

3 articles · Updated · The Philadelphia Inquirer · Jun 25

Derek Hill hit a pinch-hit two-run homer with two outs in the ninth, giving Philadelphia a 5-4 comeback win after the Phillies were down to their last strike.
Kyle Schwarber set it up with a 10-pitch pinch-hit walk despite missing the previous two games with lower-back tightness, then Hill connected for his first homer in a Phillies uniform.
Aaron Nola kept Philadelphia close after allowing two early solo homers, striking out five over five innings and retiring Nationals star James Wood in all three matchups.
Washington briefly regained the lead on Curtis Mead’s two-run homer in the sixth, but Jhoan Duran struck out the side in the ninth to finish the Phillies’ second straight late rally over the Nationals.
Alec Bohm stayed in after fouling a ball off his foot during a three-run fourth inning, though interim manager Don Mattingly said he will get X-rays.