Phillies Reliever Seranthony Dominguez Struggles in Recent Outings
St. Louis – The Philadelphia Phillies are relying on right-handed reliever Seranthony Dominguez to be a key contributor as they aim for success in the 2023 season. However, Dominguez has had some rocky performances lately, including allowing crucial home runs in three of his last five outings.
In Sunday’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Dominguez surrendered a go-ahead home run to Cardinals rookie Jordan Walker in the bottom of the eighth inning. This resulted in a 6-5 loss for the Phillies.
Catcher J.T. Realmuto acknowledged that Dominguez’s sinker wasn’t at its best during the play, and perhaps they could’ve chosen a different pitch. Nevertheless, the Cardinals’ young hitter capitalized on the opportunity and delivered with a well-executed swing.
Dominguez’s performance this season has been far from his dominant self in October last year. In 2022, he boasted a 1.57 ERA in mid-September and a 1.69 ERA in the playoffs. However, this season he has blown seven saves and has struggled to maintain the same level of precision on his pitches.
Despite his recent struggles, Realmuto noted that he saw some improvement in Dominguez’s slider during his last outing against the Braves. However, the Phillies will need more consistency from him, especially as they enter the playoffs.
While Dominguez’s performance is a cause for concern, the Phillies have other areas of the team that need improvement as well. Catcher J.T. Realmuto has also hit a slump, going 0-for-8 in the past two games and sporting a batting average of .190 with runners in scoring position.
Realmuto expressed his frustration with his lack of consistency this year and attributed it to a confidence and mentality issue. He explained that hitting is about confidence and feeling comfortable in the batter’s box, and he hasn’t been able to achieve that state consistently this season.
He reminisced about his successful stretch in mid-June, when he hit for the cycle and had three home runs in four games. He believes that getting good pitches to hit and not missing them were the key factors behind his success during that period.
Realmuto debunked the notion that his leg kick in his swing was the cause of his struggles, stating that it’s more about plate selection and his ability to capitalize on hittable pitches.
Meanwhile, starting pitcher Taijuan Walker also had a disappointing outing against the Cardinals. Although he pitched for seven innings, he allowed five runs, primarily due to the efforts of Cardinals’ Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado.
Walker’s control was better in this game, with only one walk issued compared to the 16 walks he had in his previous 26 innings. However, his last quality start came in July, and he has struggled with an ERA of 5.85 in seven starts since then.
Looking ahead, the Phillies have a three-game series against the Atlanta Braves. The Braves were recently swept by the Miami Marlins and are dealing with an injury to MVP frontrunner Ronald Acuña Jr., who missed consecutive games with a calf strain.
Despite Sunday’s loss, the Phillies won the series against the Cardinals and hold a three-game lead for the top wild-card spot over the Cubs. The team’s next challenge is to maintain their strong performance as they face the Braves in Atlanta. Phillies’ interim manager Rob Thomson emphasized the team’s ability to respond and keep coming back, even in challenging situations.