PHILADELPHIA — Orion Kerkering flexed his arms as he strutted off the mound and toward the first-base dugout, rewarding Phillies manager Rob Thomson’s confidence in the young right-hander.
With a pair of Cardinals runners on second and third with one out in the top of the eighth inning on Wednesday afternoon, Thomson took out his best reliever, lefty-hander José Alvarado, in favor of Kerkering to protect a one-run lead. The 24-year-old flamethrower responded with two crucial outs against the righty batters in the middle of the St. Louis order.
This year has been shaky at times for Kerkering, but he was lights-out in that spot.