Phillies news and rumors 9/1: After August struggles, Craig Kimbrel looks to be better in September

Craig Kimbrel has 415 career saves. (Cheryl Pursell/Phillies Nation)

The Philadelphia Phillies start their September slate on Friday night as they begin a three-game set against the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers. The Phillies currently hold the first Wild Card spot in the NL and are hoping to clinch a second consecutive playoff berth later this month.

In order to do that, Philadelphia will need their offense, which hit a franchise record 59 home runs in a month during August, to stay hot. The defending NL champs will also need their pitchers to keep opponents off the scoreboard, especially late in games.

The back end of the Phillies bullpen includes José Alvarado, Seranthony Domínguez, Gregory Soto and Craig Kimbrel. All four of them have been reliable for stretches this season and will need to be at their best over the final 29 games of the team’s regular season to help them reach the postseason.

Kimbrel has been trusted as the Phillies closer this year, coming into close games in the ninth inning to help finish off wins. He’s had a lot of success in that role — both with the Phillies and for most of his career. But after a strong stretch of appearances between early May and the end of July, Kimbrel wasn’t as effective in August.

In 34 appearances between May 4 and July 31, the right-hander had a 1.32 ERA, holding opponents to a .122 average and leaving 96.3% of base runners on the base paths. He also went 15-for-16 in save opportunities during that span and saw a bump in his four-seam fastball velocity when compared to the first month of the season.

That rather dominate stretch led to Kimbrel’s ninth All-Star selection back in July.

However, as mentioned above, the closer, who has the eighth-most saves in Major League Baseball history (415), wasn’t as good in August. While his velocity didn’t decrease at an alarming rate, he had a 5.73 ERA in 11 appearances. Batters hit .233 against him. He stranded just 49.2% of base runners and went 3-for-5 in save chances.

Six of the nine runs Kimbrel allowed in August came in two appearances — three against the San Francisco Giants on Aug. 23 and three against the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday. Besides the three runs in both, those games have something else in common, too. Kimbrel had pitched the day before.

He tossed a scoreless frame on Aug. 22 against the Giants. And before his three-run inning on Wednesday, Kimbrel pitched on Sunday and Monday, earning saves in both appearances. He then began warming up in the bullpen on Tuesday night after Andrew Bellatti struggled in the ninth inning of a 12-7 win.

It’s possible Kimbrel, 35, with 745 1/3 big-league innings under his belt, is pushing his body a little harder than he’s willing to let on. He’s already tossed 57 innings this year. He pitched 59 2/3 innings in 2021 and 60 last year.

Maybe it would help if manager Rob Thomson backed off on using Kimbrel, especially on back-to-back days, during the early part of September so he can be more fresh for a possible playoff run in October. Maybe it was just a set of appearances in August that didn’t go Kimbrel’s way. It happens.

Whatever the reason for his August struggles, Kimbrel is a key arm in Philadelphia’s bullpen. They’ll need him to be at his best both down the stretch and in the postseason. And it’ll be on Kimbrel and the coaching staff to figure out how to get him there.

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