Phillies rookie exits match vs Nationals with hamstring injury

On Wednesday night, the Philadelphia Phillies looked to secure the series win against the Washington Nationals, following their 5-0 dismantling of their National League East rivals on Tuesday night. The Phillies would look towards their rookie pitcher, Andrew Painter, to secure the win against Washington.

Painter would struggle out of the gate, allowing a single run in the top of the first inning, which is the latest in what has been a tough run in his last five Major League appearances, allowing the opposing team to score in each of those outings. But similarly to his previous outing against the Baltimore Orioles, once Philadelphia's rookie got through the first frame, he found his footing on the mound.

The Phillies pull Painter early

Just as things were looking up for the 23-year-old, the Phillies would take him out after only four innings of work, with the team reporting that they were doing so due to tightness in his left hamstring. Entering the fifth inning of the match, Don Mattingly would look towards reliever Tim Mayza to take over for the rookie.

When all was said and done for Painter, he would end the night with four innings on the rubber, totaling 63 pitches, allowing three hits, a single earned run, as well as fanning four batters in the process. Given the lower-than-usual run tally, Painter's ERA managed to drop from 6.72 to 6.48 over the four frames he appeared in.

The Phillies' rookie has the potential to be their fifth-day starter over the remainder of the season, following the team's failure to acquire another starter, which was something they were linked to doing in the weeks leading up to the trade deadline that passed earlier in the week.

Andrew Painter has left hamstring tightness, per the Phillies. He'll be evaluated further.

According to WIP's Dave Uram, the Phillies are going to evaluate Painter further following his early exit.

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