PHILADELPHIA — Andrew Painter left the mound in the sixth inning Tuesday night and, after a quick reminder from manager Rob Thomson, tipped his cap to the crowd at Citizens Bank Park.
The 40,709 in attendance – not to mention everyone in the organization – had anticipated this day since not long after the Phillies made him the 13th overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft, since as a teenager he rocketed to the top of MLB prospect lists.
The reality, by Painter’s admission, exceeded those lofty expectations.
Painter worked 5.1 innings and allowed one earned run, getting the win in his major league debut, a 3-2 decision over the Washington Nationals.
“I feel like everything was in sync,” Painter said. “The pregame bullpen was really good. So I didn’t really try to do too much out there.”
Painter pitched into the sixth, allowing four hits and one earned run, inherited by reliever Tanner Banks and scored after he exited. He walked one and struck out eight in 84 pitches.
The 6-7 power righty looked every bit the promising prospect the club has waited years for, through Tommy John surgery in 2023, through what Painter Monday called a year of “failures” in Triple A in 2025.
“He’s got great poise. He knows how to pitch,” said Thomson, who diagnosed the start as “fantastic.” “And he changed speeds behind in the count, kept people off balance, and then he’s got the power fastball to go with it.”
Painter, who turns 23 in April, left plenty in the clubhouse impressed. Kyle Schwarber called it “unbelievable.” Catcher J.T. Realmuto, who guided Painter with his usual aplomb, marveled at Painter’s preparation in Monday’s pre-start meeting and at his ability to calmly execute.
“He didn’t seem fazed by anything out there,” Schwarber said. “That was pretty cool. Even before the game, there’s no pacing, no nothing. Just felt like he was mentally prepared for what he’s about to go do. And I think that’s impressive.”
“You would have never known it was his first start,” Realmuto said. “He seemed super calm, confident. His bullpen was really good. It didn’t feel any different than his spring training starts.”
There was the little matter of Painter helping the Phillies end a three-game losing streak, its starters giving up 15 runs in 15.2 innings in three losses since Cristopher Sanchez’s Opening Day gem. But that took a backseat to what could come to be regarded as a historic debut.
Painter did it against a Nationals lineup that stacked eight lefties – six true, and two switch-hitters – and that had pounded out 17 hits a night earlier. Lefties hit .287 against Painter at Triple A last year.
But he and Realmuto had a plan, and Painter executed well enough to stick with it.
Painter’s fastball command was excellent. He started eight of the first 11 batters with first-pitch strikes. While that waned to finish at 11-for-21, his early zeroes allowed the Phillies to stack three straight-run scoring innings from the third on, the first two via solo homers from Kyle Schwarber and Adolis Garcia.
“He threw everything for strikes,” Realmuto said. “Our game plan going in, he just executed it to perfection. He was able to use every pitch we planned on using. He used it and threw them well.”
Painter touched 97.8 mph on his fastball in the first inning, per Statcast. He reached 95.5 mph in the sixth and averaged 96.7 for the night. His nine swing-and-misses weren’t huge, but he got four on the slider. Realmuto was particularly impressed with Painter being able to go to a splitter, a work-in-progress that created some big outs. Realmuto didn’t call the splitter in the first turn through the order, keeping it as a weapon later in the game.
“Everything I called, he seemed to be executing,” the catcher said. “So I didn’t see any reason why he wasn’t going to execute those.”
Painter navigated out of trouble when needed. With one out in the fourth, Daylen Lile popped up a ball that neither Trea Turner nor Bryson Stott saw, plugging 180 feet into shallow center for a double despite an expected batting average of .010 off the bat.
Painter responded by falling behind 2-1 to Jorbit Vivas before striking him out in an eight-pitch tilt, dropping a splitter into the bottom of the zone for the second out. He worked the corners of the zone with a curveball, then an eye-line-changing fastball, then a curve before getting Keibert Ruiz to swing over a slider for the final out.
“Just not letting the game speed up, not letting the moment get too big, staying within yourself, making good pitches, getting ahead and forcing the hitters’ hand,” Painter said.
In the fifth, he issued a one-out walk to Joey Wiemer, he of the MLB-record on-base streak to start the season. It was just his third three-ball count of the day. He fell behind nine-man Nasim Nunez before challenging him with his fastball, then whiffed him with a splitter out of the zone.
Painter’s day ended in the sixth with a flyout from Luis Garcia Jr., then a single to CJ Abraham.
The start was exactly what the Phillies had missed in a rocky opening weekend.
“We needed a start like that, just because our offense has been starting so slow,” Realmuto said. “So for him to come out and dominate and keep us in the game, throw up a bunch of zeros, it felt like they were quick innings, so was able to help us kind of catch a rhythm and let guys get their swings off.”
The first glimpse of Painter on a big-league mound only stokes the hype for what a pitcher of his talent can be.
“If we can keep him healthy, this guy’s going to be really good for a long time,” Thomson said. “He’s going to have a really great career. He’s one of those upper-echelon guys. He’s got the combination of power and command. The future is bright for him.”
As for Painter, there was little risk of him not soaking in the moment. Given his calm beforehand and his poise during, he had time to let it wash over him. He’s been waiting for this moment a long time, and he expected to have it in 2023 before his elbow ligaments had other plans.
But Tuesday, he clocked the pop from the crowd after a 1-2-3 first inning. He heeded the advice of Realmuto and Thomson to enjoy the moment as he came off the mound. And he lavished in having the 40 or so family members join him on the field afterward to celebrate the moment.
“It was great,” Painter said. “A lot of people showed up. I think there were about 40 of them there, maybe even more honestly. But just the support system behind me, seeing everyone come out, take time out of their week to come watch me pitch, it’s great.”