Phillies Rookie Gets Ultimate Revenge On Pirates

Philadelphia Phillies rookie Tyler Phillips got the last laugh against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Jul 21, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Tyler Phillips (48) delivers a pitch. / Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Sunday's victory was extra sweet for Philadelphia Phillies rookie Tyler Phillips.

Making just his second career start, the 26-year-old righty dominated the Pittsburgh Pirates. Phillips fired six shutout innings, scattering four hits (all singles) and one walk while striking out three. He threw 51 of his 85 pitches for strikes as the Phillies cruised to a 6-0 victory in the series finale, avoiding a three-game sweep at PNC Park coming out of the All-Star Break.

It was the best start of Phillips' young career and his second win in as many starts, improving his record to 2-0 with a 2.81 ERA, a 0.88 WHIP and a 15/1 K/BB ratio. Not bad for a guy who didn't make his MLB debut until a few weeks ago.

Tyler Phillips, Dirty 82mph Curveball. ⚒️ pic.twitter.com/J9oiSGCUXT

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) July 21, 2024

One reason for that is because of a poor spring training outing he had against Pittsburgh. Phillips was looking to break camp with Philadelphia after spending 2023 in Double-A and Triple-A, but the Pirates had other ideas. They pounded him for eight runs on 11 hits, showing that he wasn't quite ready for the big leagues and effectively delaying the start of his MLB career by several months.

A lot has changed since then, however. Taijuan Walker's injury opened up a rotation spot, giving Phillips a chance. He's made the most of it so far, earning a win in his first career start and getting another victory in his second.

Even better, Sunday's gem came at the expense of Pittsburgh -- the same team that shelled him just a few months ago. According to Phillies beat writer Matt Gelb, Phillips was on a mission to get even with the Pirates, psyching himself up in the mirror before Sunday's game.

Whatever Phillips did, it clearly worked. Hopefully he has that same edge in his next start, which could come this weekend against the Cleveland Guardians at home.