In midvideo game, Brogdon gets call to bigs
Connor Brogdon was playing Counter-Strike: Global Offensive on his computer when the call came Tuesday afternoon. That he kept playing, even after being officially summoned to the big leagues for the first time, isn’t the oddest twist in his journey to the majors.
In talking with his Lehigh Valley satellite camp compatriot Spencer Howard, called up last week, Brogdon knew a call to the bigs would come from director of player development Josh Bonifay. So when Bonifay’s name came up on Brogdon’s phone, he got excited … not enough to log off, but to scramble to pack a bag and jet to Philly for first pitch against the Orioles.
“I was just in the hotel in Allentown getting ready to go report, and I found out I was going to collect my things and drive to Philly,” Brogdon said during a Zoom call Wednesday. “… As soon as I saw Josh’s name on my phone, I was like, oh man, this could definitely be it. It was a lot of emotions.”
The 6-6, 205-pound righty didn’t take the most conventional path to the Phillies. A native of Clovis, Calif., he spent two years
at Fresno City College (alma mater of Ted Lilly and Tom Seaver, before USC), then two at NAIA powerhouse Lewis-Clark State College in Idaho (headline alum: Keith Foulke). His bigleague debut will make him the 22nd and 18th player, respectively, from those institutions.
A 10th-round pick in 2017, Brogdon has rocketed through the minors, starting 2019 at Single-A Clearwater. He has a 2.50 career ERA in 180 minor-league innings with a WHIP of 1.03 and an opposing batter’s average of .196. In 2019, he had a WHIP of 0.92 and a 2.61 ERA in 76 innings across three levels, capped by 26 Triple-A games.
Now he’s climbed the final step on the ladder.
“It is crazy to think that last year I was still in SingleA in Clearwater,” Brogdon said. “I think as a pitcher, nothing’s really changed. I think that’s maybe sort of the reason why it was such a fast journey, just attacking hitters, it’s still been the same mentality all the way up.”
The 25-year-old is the latest contestant in the bullpen sweepstakes for the Phillies, who rank 29th in MLB in ERA (5.76) and dead last by a country mile in bullpen ERA (a putrid 10.19). The ‘pen surrendered seven runs (six earned) in Tuesday’s extra-innings debacle.
Manager Joe Girardi hailed Brogdon’s three-pitch mix of fastball, changeup and a cutter-slider hybrid.
One of Brogdon’s first calls, after the CounterStrike mission, was to let his parents know. Though they won’t be here for his eventual debut, it’s still an emotional moment.
“It was obviously exciting and they were happy for me, but a lot of emotions,” Brogdon said. “I was pretty sad myself knowing they wouldn’t make it out and be in the stands, but hopefully next year, we’ll make it happen.”
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For all the bullpen ineptitude, the Phillies’ starting rotation hasn’t been bad this year. Zach Eflin added another solid start to the bunch despite the 5-4 loss to Baltimore.
Eflin went six innings, allowing seven hits and four runs. He walked just one and struck out 10, a careerhigh. He’d struck out nine batters on five occasions in his career.
“I thought he threw the ball pretty well,” Girardi said. “... I thought his stuff was really good tonight. He didn’t make a ton of mistakes tonight, but the ones he made, they took advantage of. They put a couple of tough at-bats on him, but I thought he was pretty good.”
“I think just being aggressive, getting ahead of guys, throwing my sinker in, sinker away and kind of working off of that,” Eflin said. “I felt really consistent this year, being in bullpens and playing catch and everything. It feels like the puzzle is kind of coming together for me. Kind of sucks to look up and see four runs on the board after an outing like that.”
No one’s schedule has been as adversely affected this year as Eflin. He didn’t make his first start until Aug. 6, thanks to weather and the COVID-19 caution engendered by the Marlins’ visit. He went four solid innings as the Phillies beat the Yankees Aug. 6.
Wednesday, he pitched well, save for a pair of home runs: A solo job by Anthony Santander in the third that clanged off the foul pole in right, and a bomb by Rio Ruiz in the fifth. But he put his team in a position to win.
“I felt good to begin with,” Eflin said. “Felt like I was doing a good job of really attacking the zone with all my pitches tonight. But a classic case of not burying a slider there (on Santander). I looked like he kind of dropped the head on it and hit a fly ball to right field and it just happened to carry and just barely got fair.”
••• Adam Morgan was the latest oily rag on the bullpen fire, allowing a solo home run to nine-hitter Chance Sisco, the first homer Morgan has given up to a lefthanded batter since June 6, 2018 (Jason Heyward).
Though his velocity has been down after arm injuries last season, the lefty said he is healthy but just lacking in rhythm with the topsy-turvy Phillies schedule.
“I think for me, the biggest thing is getting in a rhythm,” Morgan said. “The week off and then playing and then not playing and taking a couple days off of not throwing is playing a huge factor into it. I think for me, just getting in a rhythm and finding some consistency will help.”
Blake Parker, called up Tuesday, stranded Orioles in scoring position in the seventh and eighth. The Os left seven in scoring position.
On Hector Neris, who gave up three runs in Tuesday’s blown save, Girardi isn’t concerned: “I think it was command issues. Maybe it was not pitching for four days. Maybe it was just one of those nights for Hector. I expect him to bounce back.”
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NOTES » Rhys Hoskins grounded into not one, not two, but three double plays, all of the 5-4-3 variety. He’s the first Phillie with three GIDPs in a game since Placido Polanco (June 25, 2010). … Andrew Knapp had his second career three-hit game with a double and two RBIs. The first was April 29, 2017. … Ranger Suarez will throw a bullpen Thursday. The righty, who had a 6-1 record and a 3.14 ERA in 48.2 innings last year, was placed on the COVID-19 injured list July 3. … David Robertson toss Friday. Robertson made seven appearances last year before Tommy John surgery April 17.