The worst thing the Phillies can possibly do is allow Sunday’s misfortune to impact their handling of Alex McFarlane. They have 22 days until the NL wild-card round begins. They will play 19 games before then.

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Mattingly doesn’t need to say it out loud; there is enough evidence that rookie righty Alex McFarlane has surpassed Kerkering in the hierarchy of trusted bullpen arms. McFarlane pitched a scoreless seventh inning, throwing eight pitches, all of them for strikes. The juxtaposition was a little too obvious.

Alex McFarlane announced his arrival in the majors on July 22 by getting Shohei Ohtani to fly out on a 100-mph fastball. It has only gotten better since then. Somehow. McFarlane is the Next Big Thing in the Phillies’ bullpen,

He looks promising

Philadelphia's first meetings with Atlanta since April have been less lopsided, but the Phillies do not look like the better team right now.

PHOENIX — As the Diamondbacks’ next hitter stepped into the batter’s box, catcher Garrett Stubbs studied Alex McFarlane. Looking across the mound, he could see no hint of fear or nerves in the rookie reliever.

The Phillies will spend their September not only trying to win games, but trying to figure out how their bullpen will run in October.