Forget, for a moment, the inning in which embattled closer Hector Neris appeared for the Phillies on Monday night. (It was the ninth.) Focus instead on the type of pitches that he threw.
Of the eight pitches that Neris needed to retire three Atlanta Braves hitters, six were four-seam fastballs. The other two were splitters, the pitch that he leaned on in ascending to the closer role last season. At no point did Neris attempt to throw his slider, by far his third-best pitch.
Neris’ road back to owning the ninth inning for the Phillies — if such a road exists in Gabe Kapler’s manage-by-the-matchups bullpen — is paved with four-seamers and splitters.