Inside The Phillies

Philadelphia Phillies Rookie, Life Long Fan Fired Up After Huge Night

The Philadelphia Phillies rookie threw a complete-game shutout and continues a fairytale run for the start of his MLB career.

Dylan Sanders

Jul 27, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Phillies pitcher Tyler Phillips (48) is doused by water after his complete game shut out victory against the Cleveland Guardians at Citizens Bank Park.
Jul 27, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Phillies pitcher Tyler Phillips (48) is doused by water after his complete game shut out victory against the Cleveland Guardians at Citizens Bank Park. / Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
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The Philadelphia Phillies have let a couple of pitchers throw complete games this season, but this latest one was special for the guy that did it.

Rookie Tyler Phillips grew up a supporter of Philadelphia and just completed every baseball fan's dream of throwing a complete game shutout in a crucial game for their childhood team.

It couldn't have come at a better time as the Phillies needed a bounce-back game against the Cleveland Guardians, who hold the second-best record in all of baseball.

The starting rotation had been great overall this year, but was met with a bit of injury trouble that brought Phillips and Kolby Allard into the mix despite what Philadelphia had planned down the stretch.

Phillips had an interesting journey to being the guy that holds things together in the back-end of the rotation.

He was a 16th round draft selection of the 2015 MLB draft by the Texas Rangers. He hadn't been considered a top-30 prospect for a team since 2020 when he was Texas' No. 24 overall prospect.

He had a good couple of years between Single and High-A. The best year was 2018, when he had a 2.84. His success was short-lived, though, as things started to go downhill.

The Rangers eventually DFA'd him in 2021 after a really rough stretch at the Triple-A level, opening up the opportunity for the Phillies to claim him off waivers. He's been with Philadelphia ever since.

After a mediocre finish to 2021, he would then miss all of 2022 due to injury and surgery.

His first full season in the Phillies farm system was 2023 and it was a return to form. He still wasn't much of a strikeout machine, but his 4.92 ERA and 3.8 walks per nine were both at least a step in the right direction.

Injuries to Ranger Suarez, Spencer Turnbull and Taijuan Walker forced Philadelphia's hand in bringing a minor league pitcher that can at least eat some innings.

Phillips has done that and more since making his debut in the middle of July. His ERA is now down to 1.80 after his 105-pitch shutout.

He had a rough outing against the Oakland Athletics, but has been at least dominant in his other starts.

The righty gets the job done by forcing bad contact and getting a lot of batters to fly out.

If he can keep a solid level of play up for the next couple of weeks, he could find a role for himself at the major league level.

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Dylan Sanders

DYLAN SANDERS

Dylan Sanders graduated from Louisiana State University with a degree from the Manship School of Mass Communication in 2023. He was born in raised in Baton Rouge, LA but has also lived in Buffalo, NY. Though he is a recent graduate, he has been writing about sports since he was in high school, covering different sports from baseball to football. While in college, he wrote for the school paper The Reveille and for 247Sports. He was able cover championships in football, baseball and women's basketball during his time at LSU. He has also spent a few years covering the NFL draft and every day activities of the New Orleans Saints. He is a Senior Writer at Inside the Marlins and will also be found across Sports Illustrated's baseball sites as a contributing writer. You can follow him on Twitter or Instagram @dillysanders

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