Daily News | Kyle Gibson hopes starting rotation can bring ‘some consistency’ to the Phillies
STEVEN M. FALK / Staff PhotographerTAMPA, Fla. — Kyle Gibson’s goal ahead of his last spring training start against the Yankees on Monday was to get into the sixth inning, and he did just that. Facing a formidable lineup of Yankees bashers — including Aaron Judge, DJ LeMahieu, Anthony Rizzo, and Giancarlo Stanton — Gibson allowed two earned runs, no walks, and struck out four in the Phillies’ 5-2 loss to New York.
He felt good throughout his outing, and believes he and his other rotation mates have been able to get stretched out a bit, even in a shortened spring training.“We kind of knew once we saw where Ranger [Suárez] and Zack [Wheeler] were going to be, it’s really just a couple of times through the rotation, and then we’ll be set up and ready to go,” Gibson said.
“And you know that as a starting pitcher, you can read the situation and read the room. It’s important for us to get the season started off well, have a couple of good outings, keep the bullpen fresh. I’m a big believer in the rotation bringing some consistency to the team. That’s what our job is.”Seranthony Domínguez gave up a three-home run to Judge, but Phillies manager Joe Girardi thought his stuff looked good.
Left-handed reliever Ryan Sherriff, who has biceps tendinitis, is not expected to be ready for opening day. Girardi said he has been shut down.Right-handed reliever Connor Brogdon is scheduled to pitch on Tuesday against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Brogdon has seen a velocity dip in camp; normally he’s around the 96-mph range, and he has been hitting 92, 93 mph.