Andrew Painter overcomes migraine, vomiting to post ‘impressive’ bullpen outing on unusual afternoon

PHILADELPHIA — Andrew Painter woke up with pressure in his head and spent the morning throwing up. He’s had a history of migraines dating back to his youth travel ball days, and the reoccurring issue threatened his third career outing on Sunday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park.

Painter arrived at the stadium with symptoms, and the club determined he would not be ready to start the rubber match of a three-game series against the Diamondbacks about 45 minutes before the scheduled 1:35 p.m first pitch. At 1:01 p.m., the Phillies announced that Painter was scratched from the lineup card. About 15 minutes later, the rookie right-hander emerged from the dugout and walked toward the bullpen in center field.

He began to feel better closer to game time after taking some medication, so the Phillies decided he’d enter the game in the third inning. Despite the hectic beginning to the day, Painter did quite fine, allowing just one run in five innings in a 4-3 loss.

“He was outstanding,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “… And who knows how he was really feeling, too? So that was a great outing.”

Reliever Zach Pop started for Philadelphia as an opener and gave up one run in two innings. Thomson said he was pleased with the right-hander’s performance, especially on such short notice.

Pop had never started a game in the big leagues before Sunday. The 29-year-old opened one game in Single-A back in 2021, but he hadn’t taken the mound as a traditional starter since he was in college at Kentucky about a decade ago. Still, he prepared for the appearance as if it was just another out of the bullpen — except for a quick prayer and a message to his spouse.

“I just texted my wife,” Pop said. “I was like, ‘I might start this one. Get here a little earlier.'”

While Pop warmed up before the top of the first inning, Painter long tossed in the outfield. He threw in the bullpen during the second inning, then came in for the third. The former first-round draft pick surrendered just three hits and a walk. He fired 80 pitches (54 for strikes) and struck out seven batters.

“He was better getting ahead in the count, attacking hitters,” Thomson said. “The curveball and slider were really good. Some good changeups. Very impressive today.”

The Phillies surrendered a one-run lead after Painter was removed as left-hander José Alvarado was charged with two runs in the eighth. The offense missed some opportunities, so the team took the series loss and dropped to 7-8 on the season. But even if it didn’t lead to a victory, Painter’s strong showing could have a tangible effect on the club moving forward.

If Painter wasn’t able to pitch at all, which seemed like a real possibility at one point, the Phillies would have needed to tax their bullpen. Thomson said he was “not sure” how they would have mapped out 27 outs without him throwing.

Because Painter was able to rebound quickly, the Phillies will have a fresher relief unit at the very least.

“Super important,” Painter said of being able to eat up innings. “I didn’t know the extent of how long I was going to be able to go out, how good I’d feel out there. But I wanted to go out and at least get a couple innings in to just take that off the relievers.”