Phillies closer Jhoan Duran working his way back into crucial role in bullpen

PHILADELPHIA — The Phillies found themselves in a save situation on Wednesday night following a four-run eighth-inning rally, and the light show at Citizens Bank Park was nowhere to be found.

Closer Jhoan Duran, fresh off his first appearance after being reinstated from the 15-day injured list on Tuesday, was not available outside an emergency, as the Phillies want to be cautious with the hard-throwing right-hander. Reliever Brad Keller handled the top of the ninth inning to complete the 6-3 win over the Athletics.

“He was a hard down for us tonight,” interim manager Don Mattingly said of Duran.

Duran suffered an oblique strain in mid-April, and officially returned on Tuesday. He pitched the ninth inning in a blowout, 9-1 Phillies victory that night. Mattingly later said that he wanted Duran to pitch in that game almost no matter what. He acknowledged that the pitcher was “rusty” in his first taste of live action in about three weeks. Duran allowed one run on a hit and three walks, striking out one batter in 27 pitches.

“The big thing is that he came out of it healthy,” Phillies pitching coach Caleb Cotham said. “His stuff looked great. They honestly took some good at-bats, and they didn’t swing at some pitches that were kind of close. And obviously, that was not, from an execution standpoint, what he normally is. But it was his first one back.”

Since Duran did not go out on a minor-league rehab assignment before coming back, it sounds like the Phillies will be extra careful with how they deploy him for now. The team did not want to have him pitch on back-to-back days right out of the chute.

But it will be important for the Phillies, now 16-19 after rattling off eight wins in the nine games since they fired Rob Thomson, to get the full version of Duran soon to fortify their bullpen and collection of right-handed relievers.

Orion Kerkering has pitched very well, and Chase Shugart has been a nice find since coming up from Triple-A. But Jonathan Bowlan has struggled, and Keller, who served as the closer in Duran’s absence, has a 4.02 ERA in 16 games. He has converted three saves in three opportunities, but he allowed three baserunners in a somewhat shaky outing on Wednesday.

Duran has a 2.35 ERA with five saves in eight appearances, and he’s continued to add to his unique arsenal since being traded to Philadelphia last summer. He’s started throwing a traditional splitter in addition to his splitter/sinker hybrid, known as a “splinker.” He also throws two breaking balls: a curveball and a sweeper, and Cotham thinks he’s had a better feel for those pitches in 2026. That’s not to mention his four-seam fastball that averages 100 mph.

Duran, who tends to be in the zone, has tried to mix things up in order to avoid more bats and get more strikeouts. Last year, it felt like he gave up bloopers or dribblers that landed in for hits at times. While weak contact is always a win for a pitcher, it never hurts to rack up more punchouts either.

So far this season, Duran is throwing his fastball only 21% of the time, the lowest mark of his career. Cotham said that his matchups to start the year probably played a factor into that, and that the pitch usage will work its way back toward the usual as Duran logs more innings. But since Duran can reach back for triple digits, the Phillies believe it makes everything else play up even more as well.

“One of the best things — we talk about the benefits of throwing really hard — is you don’t have to throw it as much, because they always have to be ready,” Cotham said. “Some of that is in response to some ball in play. Last year, he’d throw two splinkers in a row, ground-ball base hits. So it’s just mixing a little bit more. And over a little bit longer sample, it’s all going to shake out to normal.”