MILWAUKEE — The Goo Goo Dolls played a concert at Miller Park following Saturday’s game between the Phillies and Brewers. Among the opening acts was a man named Elvis.
Though the Phillies lost the game, 4-2, and relief pitcher Elvis Araujo faced only one batter, it was yet another strong showing from the rookie left-hander. He struck out Shane Peterson on four pitches to log his second scoreless appearance in the series, and he’s now gone nine straight appearances — eight innings — without permitting a hit.
“I'm just working hard every day and trying to keep the ball down and continue to just make my pitches work,” Araujo said. “(I’ve had to learn) just my routine, being a process, continuing every day to get better.”
Araujo, 24, is one of only two rookies — Hector Neris being the other — in the Phillies' bullpen, but following the trade of Jonathan Papelbon on July 28, few would mistake the collection of inexperienced arms as household names. Three others — Ken Giles, Luis Garcia and Cesar Jimenez — have fewer than 100 big-league innings under their belts, and only one, Jeanmar Gomez, has more than 200.
The Phils might be middle of the pack in overall bullpen ERA across baseball, but the unit hasn’t faltered since Papelbon’s departure for Washington. The bullpen has a 3.67 ERA since July 28, but 13 of the 23 runs have been allowed by Justin De Fratus, one of the few veterans in the mix, and all but one run Saturday have come against De Fratus in multi-inning stints.
“One of the things that was a positive to note about Papelbon was he really helped our younger pitchers in the bullpen,” Phillies interim manager Pete Mackanin said. “(Pitching coach) Bob McClure was telling me that he helped all the guys in the bullpen, the way they prepare, the way they went about things, what to look for, how to do certain things, when to get ready.
"I think some of that rubbed off on them. There are guys in the bullpen who’ve been pitching two or three years; they’ve got to be accountable for themselves and not rely on someone else to teach them. It’s good to be pointed in the right direction, but at some point, you have to figure it out on your own. Part of that is just getting out there to pitch and getting the experience.”
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Araujo is the prime example. After netting a major league contract in the offseason, he earned a surprise promotion in May after a rocky 9 2/3 innings at Double A Reading, but he’s been an effective weapon, especially since a bad outing July 11 when he allowed two runs and recorded only one out.
“He's got a good downward plane, big tall guy,” Mackanin said. “He's showing a good mound presence. He looks like he's in control of himself. It all comes down to making good pitches. You can throw 98 miles per hour, but if you're leaving it thigh-high down the middle, most likely it's going to get hit. You get either side of the plate and keep the ball down, you've got a good chance, and that's what he's been doing. He's showing a better breaking ball than we saw earlier. A good changeup that we saw (Friday). We're going baby steps with him, and he's responding. He's got a lot of confidence right now.”
He’s not the only one. Giles (1.75 ERA) has quietly become one of the most dominant relievers in the National League, and he’s teamed with Papelbon to ensure that the Phillies have converted every ninth-inning save this season. Neris (2.37 ERA) worked out of a situation Friday with a man on third and nobody out and is averaging 9.47 strikeouts per 9 innings this season. Garcia (3.35 ERA) saw a 10-game scoreless streak end earlier this month but has really only had two bad outings in a team-high 52 games this season. He also worked out of a colossal jam Saturday with a run in, bases loaded and one out, recording two strikeouts to wriggle free.
Araujo said it hasn’t mattered that the team no longer has its marquee bullpen presence in Papelbon
“I just take the good things and the bad things, keep what I'm doing and growing from there,” Araujo said.
Since his departure, Papelbon has two saves for Washington, with two runs allowed in five innings.
“He’s got a different type of personality, a bigger-than-life type of personality,” Mackanin said. “But when it came down to business, he knew what he was doing. Players can see that.”