WASHINGTON — There are 12 former All-Stars and at least two future Hall of Famers occupying the Philadelphia Phillies clubhouse on a given day. This collection of well-paid, salty, accomplished stars will command most of the attention as the Phillies attempt, for the fifth consecutive year, to bring a World Series title home to Philly.
Then there is Jonathan Bowlan, an easygoing dude from Memphis, quiet and forthright, making his way through his first full season in the big leagues. Bowlan might not realize it yet, but he may have more to do with whether the Phillies raise a trophy in October than any of the superstars.
Bowlan, 26, has emerged as the Phillies’ primary set-up man, aiming, along with 25-year-old Orion Kerkering, to form a bridge between the club’s quartet of ace starting pitchers and their dominant closer, Jhoan Duran.
It is thankless work, and the sixth through 10th innings are exactly where the Phillies’ prior championship quests have gone awry. Lately, they’ve been trouble spots as the club staggers down the stretch to finalize a National League wild-card berth.
Bowlan has given up a run in five consecutive appearances entering Wednesday, Sept. 16, including late-game homers in three of those; Kerkering gave up runs in four of his last five games, including multiple-run outings in Phillies losses.
“Those innings,” says interim manager Don Mattingly, “are always the stressful innings.
“And you'd like to be able to lock down that end of the game when you get a lead or you're in a close game.”
Mattingly was speaking after Bowlan gave up a first-pitch, three-run, pinch-hit homer to Daylen Lile in the seventh inning of a 6-3 loss to Washington, the latest setback that imperiled the club’s wild-card standing. Oh, the team’s still on fairly firm ground, with a 95% chance to reach the playoffs, according to FanGraphs.
It’s just that the Phillies keep slipping down the pecking order and, with a rough combo of a flailing lineup and slumping bullpen, inspiring little confidence in their postseason chances.
For Bowlan, learning to cope has come before having to face the bright lights of the postseason. He’s found that in reflecting on failure, there’s a fine line between quickly moving on and interrogating what went wrong.
“There’s definitely times I lose some sleep at night, for sure,” Bowlan tells USA TODAY Sports. “But as soon as you wake up the next morning, it’s a new day. It’s a blessing. God woke me up to continue on. And you can’t live in the past. Because you can learn from your experiences, for sure. And that’s what I continue to try and do.
“It’s taken some time to learn that, about the short memory. But I’ve gotten to the point where, ‘Yeah, you can think about it a little bit.’ And there’s times where it was a tough thing to happen in that situation.
“But you live and you learn. All you can do is just keep chugging along. Keep moving.”
Red-faced October
That ethos certainly applies to the Phillies, who won’t glean any sympathy from rival fanbases, given their four-year run of success powered by an aggressive ownership group bent on winning their first World Series since 2008.
Yet every bite at the apple ends rottenly for all but one team every year. And October's late innings have been a long-running soap opera in Philly.
In 2022, it was Jose Alvarado, relieving ace Zack Wheeler in the sixth inning of World Series Game 6, the Phillies leading 1-0, only to give up a left-on-left three-run blast to Yordan Alvarez, enabling the Houston Astros to nail down the championship.
A year later, it was the rookie Kerkering – with just eight major league appearances under his belt – summoned to protect a 1-0 lead in the seventh inning of NLCS Game 3, the Phillies nine outs from seizing a 3-0 lead on the ostensibly overmatched Arizona Diamondbacks.
Instead, Kerkering gave up three consecutive hits, including Lourdes Gurriel’s RBI double, to tie the game and set the stage for closer Craig Kimbrel yielding a walk-off hit, one of Kimbrel’s many failings in that series. The Diamondbacks won in seven games.
In 2024, the goats were numerous – from Alvarado to Carlos Estevez to Jeff Hoffman, who yielded six earned runs and recorded four outs across three games – as the Mets pulled off a stunning NLDS upset.
And last year, it was Kerkering, aiming to keep the Phillies alive in the 11th inning of NLDS Game 4 at Los Angeles, but infamously fielding Andy Pages' two-out ground ball and throwing home instead of taking an easy out at first.
He was left to face the music.
Now, Kerkering realizes that staying true to himself is just as important in the aftermath as breaking down pitches that backfired or physical errors. And even his recent struggles have provided teachable moments.
“You look at some of those struggles you’ve gone through the last couple years and just try to learn a lot more,” says Kerkering, “since I came up through the system so fast and wasn’t able to really go through those downs. I think going through them now a little bit has been super-helpful. You’ll go on some great runs and some not-so-fun runs. But that’s what baseball is. It’s a game of failure.
“You just try to make sure you get back on who you’re supposed to be as a person.”
A 'whoa' moment
Bowlan’s recent struggles have overshadowed his excellent work most of this season. He’s blown five saves but also has a 1.04 WHIP and struck out 71 in 55 innings.
It’s been a startling rise for Bowlan, who admitted he was a bit stunned – “Kind of a whoa moment,” he says – when the Phillies acquired him over the winter for longtime lefty reliever Matt Strahm. The Phillies’ suggestion he lean more heavily on his four-seam fastball – its usage has risen from 33.6% to 48% - has paid significant dividends.
That will be his best friend come the postseason, waters he’s looking forward to navigating.
“I’ve heard that being in the playoffs is one of the best experiences you can have in this game,” says Bowlan. “Being in that situation, from what I’ve learned, you’ve got to just slow things down. You can’t let things overwhelm you. These guys have been through it. They’ve been through big situations.
“I’m just trying to learn from them to the best of my ability.”
Both Bowlan and Kerkering are operating a rung higher than the Phillies anticipated this season. They signed right-hander Brad Keller to a two-year, $22 million deal over the winter after his stellar 2025 with the Chicago Cubs. But Keller struggled into June, missed a month with forearm tendinitis and then tore the UCL in his throwing elbow in July.
Veteran lefties Alvarado, Brooks Raley and Tim Mayza balance out the bullpen, but aren't necessarily built for one-inning, high-leverage situations.
That's just one reason why Bowlan and Kerkering will be front and center this postseason.
Kerkering is now in his third full major league season, yet maintains he’s “still the pup” on a club with 10-year vets like Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner and Zack Wheeler. He has been through the postseason fire, for better or worse, and knows what he’ll tell Bowlan before his October indoctrination.
“Think of it like you’re playing the Dodgers, you’re playing the Braves’ series – (multiply) that by five,” says Kerkering. “The intensity, how much people care, how much louder and the passion.
“But you still have to make your pitches. It’s a big moment for the pitcher, a big moment for the hitters. It doesn't matter how long they’ve been there. You’re battling each other out and there’s very few teams left.
“You’re highlighted, basically.”
And the spotlight is about to get a lot brighter.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Phillies can't live in fear of another playoff bullpen debacle
