PHILADELPHIA — The announced crowd of 39,237 at Citizens Bank Park erupted for a split second when the lights went out before a moment of confused silence took over. For the last calendar year, Phillies fans have gotten quite used to the new tradition. When the club holds a lead in the ninth inning, the stadium dims, the music plays and closer Jhoan Duran trots in for a save opportunity.
On a night like Tuesday, with Duran unavailable out of the bullpen, left-hander Brooks Raley and a more generic-looking light show would have to do — even if it didn’t immediately register for everyone in attendance. Raley, sent to the Phillies from the Mets in a deal between National League East foes at the trade deadline, earned his 13th career save — and his first in over three years — at the end of a 6-4 win over the Marlins.
“Rales has been out there before and pitched late in games,” Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly said, “so you kind of trust him to know what he’s doing.”
Duran, a first-time All-Star in 2026, has been a force in the back of the bullpen for Philadelphia. The hard-throwing right-hander has a 1.87 ERA in 47 games with 27 saves and an NL-leading 43 games finished. He’s the type of reliever who wants the ball often, and the Phillies trust him to know his body and when he’s good to go. On Sunday, he threw 33 pitches in a high-stress save in Minnesota. He played catch Monday afternoon and still felt like he could pitch; Duran gave up one run that night, but he finished a 10-pitch save in a series opener against Miami.
Before Tuesday’s game, Duran did not have the same feeling. He needed a night off after two saves in a row.
“He knows when he’s good, when he’s not,” Mattingly said, “and today was one of those days that he knows he’s not where he should be.”
That left the Phillies (69-58) in a tougher position in their bullpen. It was certainly not as dire as last Monday in St. Louis, when their only available relievers were Alan Rangel as a long man and Jonathan Bowlan, who had his first career save versus the Cardinals. But the entire picture is less clear and less certain without Duran.
Starter and veteran ace Zack Wheeler allowed two runs in five innings for the Phillies, who inserted rookie Alex McFarlane for the top of the sixth. He gave up one unearned run as first baseman Alec Bohm failed to pick a throw in the dirt from second baseman Luis Arraez on a potential double play that instead sent a runner home. But the Phillies rallied for four runs in the bottom of the inning, starting with an RBI double from Bohm, and he converted an impressive line-drive double play to end the top of the seventh for left-hander José Alvarado.
Mattingly said he wanted to have right-hander Orion Kerkering close ideally, “but it just didn’t fall like that.” With the Phillies ahead 5-3 and No. 2 hitter Xavier Edwards due up for the Marlins, Kerkering had the eighth instead. After two quick outs, cleanup batter Griffin Conine tapped a ball in front and to the left of the mound. Kerkering picked it up and made a somewhat familiar mistake, throwing high and wide of Bohm for an error. Conine came around to score on a Heriberto Hernández single in the next at-bat.
Philadelphia responded with an insurance run on an opposite-field RBI single by Kyle Schwarber, then Raley, the 38-year-old who’s pitched nine seasons in the big leagues and five in South Korea, was sent in to protect a two-run lead. With the help of two sliding plays from third baseman Bryson Stott, he pitched a 1-2-3 inning for his first save since July 30, 2023. Without their biggest weapon in relief, the Phillies were still able to piece it together in their fifth consecutive win.
“The extra run helps,” Mattingly said. “That’s the biggest key: just keep scoring and not just being a one-run game all the time. Being able to get that extra run is huge.”
