How Andrew Painter's Three Innings Looked for Phillies In Second Spring Start

Andrew Painter was not his sharpest on Saturday afternoon in his second start of the spring, but a 22-year-old looking to cement himself as a major-league starter will take the results as he gets back to work ahead of a third exhibition outing this week.

Painter didn't strike anyone out but threw three scoreless innings against the visiting Toronto Blue Jays and is up to five in Grapefruit League play.

He took a moment to find the zone, or perhaps was overthrowing his fastball early as he did to the first batter he faced in start No. 1 against the Yankees. This time, he walked Blue Jays leadoff man Myles Straw on four pitches, none of them particularly close.

Andrew Painter, Philadelphia Phillies — Painter vs. Straw | Baseball Savant

And yet Painter needed just five pitches the rest of the inning. He barely missed the barrel of two-hole hitter Jesus Sanchez' bat on a hanging 81 mph curveball — and it may have still been out if not for the wind — with Adolis Garcia running it down in deep right-center. It was 99.2 mph off the bat, the second-hardest-hit ball Painter allowed in his three innings.

Helping himself out of it

Painter showed quick feet, picking off Straw with a nice-looking move to first base, several pitches after nearly nabbing him. The second attempt left little doubt.

And with the bases empty on a 1-1 count, he broke the bat of Eloy Jimenez on a jam-job grounder to shortstop Trea Turner to end the inning. It was a 97 mph four-seamer, far in on the hands.

Nothing crazy, but a mature first inning from a young pitcher. Painter wasn't affected by the four-pitch walk to open the game and kept his eye on Straw at first base, helping himself out with a pick-off move that teams will now know more about. He gave up hard contact to Sanchez but the softest possible to Jimenez.

J.T.'s know-how

The second inning began with Daulton Varsho, the best overall hitter in the lineup the Blue Jays brought to Clearwater on Saturday. Catcher J.T. Realmuto appeared to buy Painter a strike on a 2-0 count to get the pitcher back into the at-bat.

Painter's first pitch, a fastball, had just nicked the bottom of the zone and was called a ball. The second was up and in and obviously a ball, but Realmuto appeared to say something to home-plate umpire James Hoye — could've been as simple as, 'Where did you have that first pitch?' — and the Phillies were rewarded with a called strike on a 2-0 curveball that was above the strike zone. Sometimes complaining politely at the right time can have an immediate impact, especially when you have the reputation of a Realmuto.

The next pitch on 2-1 was one of the best among the 34 Painter threw on Saturday. It was a 96 mph fastball at the knees, just at the bottom of the plate — a hair lower and it would have been a ball, a hair higher and it would have been in a lefty hitter's sweet spot. Varsho swung through it and just like that, Painter went from a hitter's count to an advantageous position. He ended the at-bat one pitch later with a back-foot slider, his first slider of the afternoon.

Mixing it up

With one away in the second inning, Painter started the next hitter, catcher Tyler Heineman, with his first changeup of the day. It was middle-in and probably needed to be lower or farther inside, but the timing and arm action were ideal, so Heineman was well out in front of the pitch for a whiff.

Painter's 0-1 fastball was way too far inside; perhaps he was trying to over-correct from the previous changeup that didn't get in enough on Varsho. But again, a quick at-bat that ended on the next pitch — a low-and-away curveball — with a weak flyball to the opposite field.

The lone hit

Lefty Nathan Lukes had the only hit Saturday off Painter, a jam-shot bloop single over the shortstop's head. This was the one plate appearance after the opening walk where Painter truly fell behind. His first-pitch fastball was right down the middle but fouled off. His next three offerings — heater, changeup, curveball — weren't competitive pitches for balls. He still almost got the out with a well-executed up-and-in fastball at 3-1.

Quickly out of the second

Painter ended his second inning by challenging Carlos Mendoza, a 5-foot-6, lefty-hitting middle infielder in camp with Toronto on a non-roster invite. Painter worked ahead on a 96 mph fastball slightly up in the zone, nearly made Mendoza offer at a nasty 0-1 slider in the dirt, induced ugly swings for foul balls on a sweeper and fastball, then ended the at-bat with a high heater that resulted in a soft groundball to short.

This was one of Painter's better ABs of the day.

Loudest contact

The third inning began with the hardest-hit ball Painter has allowed this spring, a 395-foot deep drive by shortstop Josh Kasevich that Justin Crawford leaped to corral on the warning track in left-center.

Painter could have paid more for the pitches to Sanchez in the first inning and Kasevich in the third. His line would have looked much different if either hitter's timing was a millisecond better. But again, he'll take the results, even knowing he didn't have his best stuff.

Showin' off the rangeeee pic.twitter.com/GuPKaxvHAU
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) March 7, 2026

Quick work

Painter ended his afternoon with a pair of two-pitch at-bats.

Batting ninth, non-roster invitee Charles McAdoo swung at a fastball at his eyes for strike one, then shattered his bat on a low-and-away sweeper, flying out gently to center.

And after not throwing Straw anything close to start the game, Painter ended his outing by working ahead with an 0-1 sweeper in the zone, then throwing one of his best fastballs of the day, up-and-in just off the plate for a soft groundball to short.

In total, nine balls were put into play against Painter, seven of them weak or middling contact. He has only one strikeout through five innings in two spring starts but has also induced six groundouts and two broken-bat pop-ups, and those all count the same.

Andrew Painter’s day is done in Clearwater. He struggled with command but was able to get outs.

3.0 IP | 1 H | 0 ER | 1 BB | 0 K
34 Pitches | 21 Strikes

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— Phillies Tailgate (@PhilsTailgate) March 7, 2026

Painter will likely extend to four innings in his third start of the spring, which would be in Clearwater Thursday or Friday against the Blue Jays or Orioles.