Mick Abel may have outdueled Paul Skenes in his first MLB start. But his recent struggles may land him out of the Philadelphia Phillies rotation.
After Abel put forth another inefficient effort in the Phillies’ 6-4 loss to the San Diego Padres on Wednesday, manager Rob Thomson hinted at potentially removing him from the starting staff.
Abel took his second major-league loss after allowing five earned runs on two hits while walking five in just 1 2/3 innings. Abel threw just 25 of 53 pitches for strikes and put Philadelphia’s bullpen in a hole in the first game of a doubleheader against the Padres.
In six major-league starts this season, Abel is 2-2 with a 5.04 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP in 25 innings pitched.
What Happened to Mick Abel on Wednesday?
Abel was in good shape in the second inning, even though San Diego had two men on with two out.
He struck out three of the first five batters he faced and had No. 9 hitter Elias Diaz behind 0-2 in the count with the chance to strand two more. But Abel didn’t get another out, instead walking Diaz as the first of three straight hitters before Manny Machado’s bases-clearing double made it 5-0.
“Obviously, my command got away from me,” Abel said. “I think I started trying to do a little bit too much. I got in some leverage counts and was trying too hard to make the pitches, if that makes sense, and just not naturally letting it happen.”
Thomson pulled Abel after Machado’s double.
“He was trying to be too fine,” Thomson said. “He had two out, and a runner on and then the walks came that put him behind the 8-ball. I’m not really sure what happened there, but he did lose command and lost control.”
The Phillies bullpen surrendered just one run on three hits in 7 1/3 innings, enabling the offense to close the gap, but they couldn’t scratch all the way back against ex-Phillies pitcher Nick Pivetta in their 6-4 loss.
“It’s really frustrating,” Abel said. “I thought I had everything in control today, and it just kind of slipped [away].”
Why Is Mick Abel’s Rotation Spot In Jeopardy?
Simply put, Abel has struggled, and his dazzling outing against Skenes and the Pittsburgh Pirates where he threw six-scoreless inning and struck out nine in a 1-0 win May 18 seems like a long time ago.
Abel hasn’t recorded more than nine outs since June 16, though his routine was thrown in flux when he warmed up but never took the mound due to a two-hour, 19-minute rain delay in Georgia on Friday night.
“It was definitely tough this week getting scratched in Atlanta,” Abel said. “But that’s no excuse for doing what I did today.”
Abel is clearly fifth in the Philadelphia rotation behind Zack Wheeler, Jesus Luzardo, Christopher Sanchez and Ranger Suarez. He is taking Aaron Nola’s spot in the lineup while the veteran is on the injured list, and Philadelphia reportedly expects to get him back in August.
With the All-Star break in Atlanta on the horizon — the Phillies need just one more start before the midsummer break July 15 — Thomson would not commit to when Abel’s next start would be. The Phillies could go with Taijuan Walker or No. 1 prospect Andrew Painter, who is tearing up Triple-A.
“We haven’t talked about [his spot in the rotation],” Thomson said. “I haven’t talked to Mick either. I’m not sure how he’s feeling. But we’ll talk about it.”
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