Phillies prospect Andrew Painter bounces back with five scoreless innings for triple-A Lehigh Valley

Andrew Painter passed the test.

Pitching on regular rest for the first time, after allowing a career-high six runs in his previous start, the Phillies’ 22-year-old top prospect gave up one hit and two walks in five scoreless innings Sunday for triple-A Lehigh Valley against Worcester.

With that, Painter checked off two of the remaining boxes before his inevitable major league debut, which almost certainly will come this summer. First, he pitched on four days’ rest; and second, he responded to adversity.

After the start of the game was delayed by rain, Painter dialed up his fastball to 99 mph in the first inning. He issued an eight-pitch walk to Red Sox prospect Jhostynxon Garcia but erased him on a double play.

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Painter racked up six strikeouts. He threw only 72 pitches after back-to-back starts of 81 and 85 pitches. It was by design. Phillies manager Rob Thomson said Painter would be capped at 75 pitches because he was starting on regular rest for the first time.

The Phillies will give Painter five days’ rest before his next start, which is scheduled for Saturday at home.

Team officials were eager to see how Painter would bounce back from his worst minor league start. Better to learn to make adjustments in the minors, Thomson said, than to do it for the first time in the big leagues.

“That’s what the minor leagues are for,” Thomson said. “A lot of guys go through high school, college, even sometimes in the minor leagues where they don’t have any failure. And then, all of a sudden, they get to the big leagues and fail for the first time and they really don’t know how to get out of it.

“It’s all part of growth. At times, [struggling in the minors] is a good thing. He’s going to have bad starts here and there.”

Nick Castellanos hit his ninth career grand slam in the sixth inning to put the Phillies’ 11-4 victory out of reach.

Then, almost immediately, he regretted it.

“Honestly, I felt pretty bad because I know [Blue Jays reliever Erik] Swanson’s kid had an accident in spring training last year,” Castellanos said. “So, I was like, ‘[Shoot], I wish I would’ve hit off anybody else.”

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Swanson’s 5-year-old son, Toby, spent nearly two weeks at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Fla., in 2024 after getting hit by a valet driver on Clearwater Beach. He has made a full recovery.

Castellanos is tied with Javier Báez, Cody Bellinger, and Aaron Judge for the third-most grand slams among active players. They trail Manny Machado (12) and Giancarlo Stanton (11).

It also marked Castellanos’ third homer in 15 games after going 40 games with only one homer. He has seven homers overall.

Although neither Bryce Harper (wrist) nor Aaron Nola (rib) is nearing a return from the injured list, they accompanied the team to Miami to continue their treatment this week.

Harper continues to wear a brace on his right wrist to help relieve inflammation. Upon being sidelined June 6, he said he “can’t really function on a baseball field.” Harper’s range of motion is “almost back,” according to Thomson, but he has resumed only fielding grounders, not throwing or swinging a bat.

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The Phillies haven’t outlined a timetable for Nola’s return from a stress fracture in a rib on his right side, although he reported feeling “a lot better,” according to Thomson.

“Hopefully he starts playing catch soon,” Thomson said.

Once Nola is cleared, he will begin a throwing progression that typically includes light catch, bullpen sessions, facing hitters in live batting practice, simulated games, and minor league starts before rejoining the Phillies’ starting rotation.

Shortstop prospect Aidan Miller missed his fourth game in a row for double-A Reading with a “minor health issue that’s non-baseball related,” according to a source. The Phillies expect him to return to Reading’s lineup early in the week. … Right-hander Kyle Tyler, designated for assignment by the Phillies on June 8, got claimed off waivers by the Orioles. Tyler, 28, had a 4.31 ERA in 12 starts for Lehigh Valley. … Mick Abel (1-0, 2.35 ERA) is scheduled to start the series opener at 6:45 p.m. Monday in Miami against Marlins righty Sandy Alcantara (3-7, 7.14).