Andrew Painter punches out one, teeters on triple digits in spring debut

Phillies fans got a little glimpse of the future on Wednesday — however immediate that future might be.

Andrew Painter made a Spring Training debut that was about as anticipated as a Spring Training debut can be, firing two innings against the Minnesota Twins. Painter topped out at 99 mph, reaching that mark twice in his 29-pitch outing.

As is typical for most pitchers early in Spring Training, Painter was fastball-heavy, throwing his four-seamer 19 times, his recently-added cutter six times and his slider four times (as per registered on MLB.com, at least).

Painter allowed two singles and a run, which all came in the second inning. Christian Vázquez and Nick Gordon opened the frame with hard-hit singles before Kyle Farmer drove Vázquez in on a sacrifice double play (which featured a nice outfield assist by Símon Muzziotti).

Painter’s first inning was the smoother of the two. Carlos Correa’s infield single was all going for the Twins; Painter struck out Max Kepler on a nasty cutter for his first strikeout in camp.

Here’s Painter’s full first inning of work:

Quite the first impression for Andrew Painter… pic.twitter.com/mObXs5Fwta

— Phillies Nation (@PhilliesNation) March 1, 2023

Painter is competing to break the Phillies’ starting rotation out of Spring Training, which, at 19, would be quite the unprecedented feat.

Speaking of Spring Training roster competitions, Painter got some run support from bench candidate Jake Cave on a mammoth two-run homer in the top of the second. Cave singled in the fourth for his fifth hit (two singles and one of each extra-base variety) in eight at bats this spring.

💣💣💣 pic.twitter.com/v0lZg7EQnZ

— Phillies Nation (@PhilliesNation) March 1, 2023

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