It was bound to happen eventually. Since Jhoan Duran became the Philadelphia Phillies’ closer after the trade deadline it has felt like the Phillies would never blow another save.
But the magic ran out on Friday night against the Washington Nationals and Phillies fans learned a valuable lesson: that even Duran is human and won’t be perfect.
Heading into Friday’s series opener, Duran was a perfect 6-for-6 in save opportunities with the Phillies. In three weeks, he had only allowed two hits in seven appearances (and one of those was off his ankle) and had lowered his season ERA to an impressive 1.