Inside The Phillies

Slumping Philadelphia Phillies Reliever Has Become Unusable

The Philadelphia Phillies can't afford to keep letting this struggling reliever cost them games.

Tyler Maher

Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Seranthony Dominguez (58) looks on during the seventh inning.
Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Seranthony Dominguez (58) looks on during the seventh inning. / Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY
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Spencer Turnbull put the Philadelphia Phillies in position to win on Wednesday.

In what could be his final start before moving to the bullpen, Turnbull was once again excellent, firing five innings of one-run ball against the Cincinnati Reds while striking out eight. He left with a 1.33 ERA and a 3-1 lead after 89 pitches, putting the game in the hands of the Phillies' bullpen.

Philadelphia's relievers immediately gave it away, surrendering four runs in the bottom of the sixth and turning a two-run lead into a two-run deficit. The Phillies weren't able to rally and went on to lose, 7-4, letting the series finale slip away.

The main culprit was the first man out of the bullpen, Seranthony Dominguez. He walked the first batter he faced in the bottom of the sixth, and things only spiraled from there. After a double, a single and another walk, the lead was gone and there were two runners on base for his replacement, Matt Strahm, to deal with.

Strahm let them both score, inflating Dominguez's ERA to 9.72.

The 29-year-old righty simply can't be trusted to get important outs at this point. He's been shaky all season, allowing at least one baserunner in eight of his 10 appearances and at least one run in five outings.

Dominguez is doing too much damage with a lead and should only be used in low leverage situations, if at all. He posted a 4.84 FIP and a 1.40 WHIP last season, so he's been struggling for over a year now.

Rob Thomson needs to stop relying on Dominguez in close games, unless he wants to lose them.

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Tyler Maher
TYLER MAHER

Tyler is a writer for Sports Illustrated's Inside the Phillies. He grew up in Massachusetts and is a huge Boston sports fan, especially the Red Sox. He went to Tufts University and played club baseball for the Jumbos. Since graduating, he has worked for MLB.com, The Game Day, FanDuel and Forbes. When he's not writing about baseball, he enjoys running, traveling, and playing fetch with his golden retriever.

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