In order to help preserve their starting rotation, the Phillies pushed all of their starters back by one day and gave minor leaguer Bailey Falter a start on Friday night. While the strategy made some sense on the surface, I’m not sure I would have done it in an important game against the first-place team in the division. The strategy proved unwise as Falter pitched poorly and was the main reason the Phillies lost to the Mets 8-6 on Friday night.
To Falter’s credit, his first pitch of the game resulted in a routine ground ball to shortstop.