PHILADELPHIA — Tyler Phillips is trying to catch his breath.
That’s tough to do when you’re living your dream.
The 2015 Bishop Eustace graduate made his big league debut for the Phillies on Sunday, striking out seven Atlanta Braves and allowing one run in four innings.
Phillips, 26, will make his first big league start Saturday when the Phillies host the Oakland A’s at 4:05 p.m. Phillips grew up a Phillies fan.
“It’s almost like an out-of-body experience,” Phillips said Tuesday afternoon in the Phillies’ clubhouse. “I’m still trying to figure it all out. I was talking to my dad and he says, ‘I’m just waiting to wake up and it be Sunday morning or something.’”
His first major league outing was memorable. He struck out the first four hitters he faced. Phillips’ seven strikeouts were the most ever by a Phillies reliever making his big league debut, breaking the record of six set by Bill Duggleby on April 18, 1901.
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“Nothing really prepares you for what you’re about to walk into,” Phillips said. “The first time you step up into the dugout and look around, it’s like seeing the Grand Canyon for the first time. But even that, it’s even more of a wonder to me because of my love for baseball. I kind of blacked out when I left the bullpen for the game. I don’t remember much of it.”
Phillips’s trip to the majors was not an easy one. He grew up in Lumberton Township, Burlington County. He was 9-0 with 65 strikeouts and 1.02 ERA in 62 innings as a Bishop Eustace senior. The Texas Rangers drafted him in the 16th round, and the Phillies claimed him off waivers in 2021. But he pitched in just five minor league games before undergoing Tommy John surgery and missing all of 2022.
Phillips was 7-3 with a 4.89 ERA for the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs when the Phillies promoted him Friday.
“I couldn’t believe what I was hearing,” he said. “I thought I would be more excited. I think I was in shock. I finally got to Atlanta, I was like, ‘Oh, my God, is this real?’”
Phillips, who now spends most of his time in Jupiter, Florida, is one of several South Jersey natives currently playing professionally. Infielder Buddy Kennedy, a 2017 Millville graduate, was Phillips’ teammate in Lehigh Valley.
“I think a lot of people sleep on that New Jersey baseball,” Phillips said. “It’s cold. We don’t play a lot of games. Once you see one guy do it, Trout (2009 Millville graduate Mike Trout), he paved the way. More and more guys are like, this is an attainable goal. This is a dream we have, and we’re going to chase it.”
Phillips will start Saturday in place of Michael Mercado, who started Sunday’s game against the Braves and allowed five runs in 1 2/3 innings.
With Spencer Turnbull and Taijuan Walker on the injured list, the Phillies need a fifth starter.
“He pitched great the other day,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said of Phillips. “If he throws like that, it’s going to be tough to take him out of the rotation.”
Meanwhile, Phillips will use the next few days to prepare for Saturday and get used to life as a big leaguer. Phillips knows he must put his history-making debut behind him as quickly as possible.
“I’m just trying not to live on the adrenalin,” he said. “I’m just trying not to live that high. I still have a lot of work to do and a lot of stuff to learn.”
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