Jeff Hoffman did something he has not done all year in Wednesday’s win against the Braves: allow an earned run on the road.
Hoffman, who has emerged as the most trustworthy arm in the Phillies bullpen, was charged with two earned runs to his line. He allowed an RBI single to Austin Riley in the eighth. Gregory Soto, who was charged with his third blown save of the season, allowed the inherited runner Riley to score on an RBI double by Marcell Ozuna.
It breaks a streak of 23 consecutive road appearances in which Hoffman has allowed zero earned runs for the Phillies. The only Phillies reliever with a longer consecutive scoreless appearance streak on the road is Ryan Madson, who allowed zero earned runs in 25 consecutive road appearances from July 22, 2010 to May 13, 2011.
Phillies relievers with an ERA below 1 on the road in the expansion era (min. 20 innings pitched)
- José Mesa (2001): 0.64
- Brad Lidge (2008): 0.79
- Jeff Hoffman (2023): 0.79
- Billy Wagner (2005): 0.90
- Ken Giles (2015): 0.94
There’s a lot of attention on father of three J.T. Realmuto’s wacky numbers on the road versus at home, but Hoffman, a father of four, also has drastic home-and-away splits. While his .152 batting average against at home is lower than his .171 batting average against on the road, his slugging percentage against at home (.315) is more than a hundred points higher than it is on the road (.207). His home ERA is 4.05.
His hiccup on Wednesday ended an 11-game scoreless streak. Over that 11-game span, Hoffman allowed only two hits and opponents slashed .056/.167/.056 against him.
Hoffman’s 2.55 ERA in 2023 ranks 13th among National League relievers. He’s eighth in the National League in FanGraphs WAR (1.4) among relievers. Tanner Scott, David Bednar, Alexis Díaz, Devin Williams, Josh Hader, Camilo Doval and Adbert Alzolay are the only relievers in the National League with a higher fWAR total than Hoffman.
It’s an incredible story. The Phillies signed Hoffman to a minor league contract at the beginning of April. He struggled with command while pitching for Lehigh Valley, but made an impression when he was called upon to pitch to a rehabbing Bryce Harper in live batting practice. The Phillies added him to the active roster prior to his May 1 opt out.
“I feel like we kind of took a step back and we evaluated and we just looked at who I was as a pitcher and when it gets down to it, I’m a stuff guy,” Hoffman said earlier this month. “We’re pretty much just out there aiming for the square. If we throw my three pitches in the zone whenever we want them, it’s going to make the decisions for the hitter pretty hard.”
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