Andrew Painter has posted a stellar 2.60 ERA over his last three starts, yet the Philadelphia Phillies have zero wins to show for it. After a frustrating 3-1 loss to the Cleveland Guardians on Sunday, where Philadelphia’s right-handed hitters went a terrible 1-for-13, it’s obvious that great pitching isn’t enough to save this team. The offense keeps wasting strong starts, and a former general manager is calling out the lineup.

“His [Andrew Painter] last three outings have been very solid,” observed Rueben Amaro Jr on The Phillies Show. “If you can get that out of your number four or your number five, then you’ve got something, my friends. It’s a matter of getting him some runs. Get the freaking kid some runs.”

The top-ranked pitching prospect in the Phillies system, Andrew Painter, made his highly anticipated MLB debut against the Washington Nationals on March 31. After a hot start to the season with only 1 earned run in 5.1 innings, Painter had multiple rough starts on the mound. He recorded his worst start against the Athletics, surrendering 8 runs on 7 hits, with his ERA spiking up to 6.89.

However, the 23-year-old starter has gained back control in his last three outings on the mound. In his latest start against the Guardians, Painter pitched into the seventh inning for the first time since his debut. He threw 6.1 innings, allowing 6 hits, 2 earned runs, and 2 walks while striking out three. In his 82 pitches, Painter recorded 8 whiffs and 6 hard-hit balls. It accounted for his third quality start this season, despite the loss.

On Sunday, the Guardians’ rookie Parker Messick was the latest southpaw to shut down the Phillies’ lineup. The Phillies hitters’ failures against left-handed pitching have been a recurring issue this season. Despite allowing 5 hits and 2 walks, Messick threw 5.2 scoreless innings as hitters like Kyle Schwarber, J.T Realmuto, Edmundo Sosa, and others failed to make an impact.

Right-handed hitters Realmuto, Alec Bohm, Trea Turner, and Adolis Garcia scrapped together only 1 hit in 13 at-bats. Schwarber and his left-handed teammates fared better, going 4-for-9. However, they did not put up runs on the scoreboard. Schwarber recorded two hits on Sunday. Worse, he struck out in a huge seventh-inning moment with a runner on base, and Bohm went hitless right after to end the threat.

The Phillies’ offense woke up once when Brandon Marsh tripled off Tim Herrin in the bottom of the seventh. Bryce Harper’s sacrifice fly scored their lone run on Sunday. In the top of the eighth, Travis Bazzana homered off Phillies reliever Jonathan Bowlan to extend the lead to 3-1 and seal the Guardians’ victory.

These offensive struggles are a real problem. The Phillies currently rank 22nd in runs scored (216) and are hitting just .228 as a team. They are stuck at 27-27, already nine games behind the Atlanta Braves in the NL East. This lack of run support keeps happening. Just last month, the lineup completely disappeared in a shutout loss to the Braves despite another great pitching effort.

As Amaro Jr said, “Get the freaking kid some runs.”

Amaro Jr is a former professional baseball outfielder who played in the MLB for eight seasons (1991-1998). In 2008, he became the general manager of the Philadelphia Phillies and bore the responsibility till September 2015. He is currently an analyst and a color commentator for the Philadelphia Phillies on NBC Sports Philadelphia.

Meanwhile, the Phillies have secured their first win on the road against the San Diego Padres on Tuesday. Their victory marked a career milestone for Phillies’ closer Jhoan Duran.

Jhoan Duran secures career milestone

Don Mattingly brought an immediate change in the Phillies clubhouse as soon as he took over as the interim manager. Under him, the Phillies started winning again. But they looked out of the rhythm after dropping four out of their last five games.

However, the Phillies went back to winning as they defeated the San Diego Padres 3-0 on Tuesday. Kyle Schwarber and Brandon Marsh both hit home runs to give Philadelphia an early lead, and starting pitcher Jesús Luzardo did the rest. Luzardo threw six scoreless innings, giving up just four hits and striking out six.

Relievers Orion Kerkering and Brad Keller threw shutout innings of their own as the Phillies brought out Jhoan Duran in the ninth to close the game.

Duran threw 17 pitches, drawing a hit from France with two outs in the frame. He closed the Padres by striking out Laureano with a 98-mph splitter. The inning became the hundredth save of his career.

This season, Duran has posted a brilliant 1.72 ERA in 16 games, recording 10 saves for the Phillies in 15.2 innings. The Phillies acquired the All-Star closer from the Minnesota Twins before the trade deadline last season.