Phillies prospect Andrew Painter hits a rough patch in triple A: ‘That’s what the minor leagues are for’

When the Phillies established “July-ish” as a vague timeline for Andrew Painter’s major league debut, it was under two conditions.

“One, he’s got to be healthy,” manager Rob Thomson said Wednesday before the Phillies finished a series against the Cubs. “And he’s got to be pitching well.”

Check. And, well, keep checking back.

» READ MORE: A rib injury could keep the Phillies’ Aaron Nola out until after the All-Star break

Painter endured the worst of his six triple-A starts Tuesday night in Allentown. He gave up six runs on eight hits in five innings against Worcester, the Red Sox’ affiliate.

After yielding five earned runs in 17 innings over his first four triple-A starts, Painter has allowed 10 runs in nine innings over his last two.

“When guys struggle, usually it’s either stuff or command, and [Tuesday] night was command because the stuff was good,” Thomson said, based on reports he received from Lehigh Valley. “His velocity was real good, the spin was real good, and the strike percentage was real good. He had a lot of pitches in the middle of the plate.”

In all, Painter has a 5.19 ERA, 29 strikeouts, and 11 walks in 26 innings in triple A. He has allowed five homers in six starts.

But as long as Painter is healthy after missing the last two seasons with a torn elbow ligament that required Tommy John surgery, the Phillies don’t mind if he encounters some adversity on the mound.

Actually, they’re welcoming it.

“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.

» READ MORE: Top Phillies prospect Andrew Painter continues to check ‘a lot of boxes’ on his path to The Show

“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.”

Since the offseason, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski used “July-ish” as the potential time frame for Painter’s arrival. Thomson said recently that it’s unlikely Painter will join the Phillies’ rotation until after the All-Star break, July 14-17.

And the timeline didn’t change with Tuesday’s discovery that Aaron Nola will miss additional time because of a stress reaction in a rib on his right side. Fellow prospect Mick Abel has stepped into Nola’s spot in the rotation, alongside Zack Wheeler and lefties Cristopher Sánchez, Ranger Suárez, and Jesús Luzardo.

After nearly a week of treatment for the inflammation in his right wrist, Bryce Harper likely will resume baseball activity Friday by taking grounders. He’s not cleared to throw or swing a bat.

“He’s got to be pain-free,” Thomson said.

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Meanwhile, infielder Otto Kemp made his first start at first base Wednesday after playing third base in his first four major league games and going through pregame drills at first with coach Bobby Dickerson. Alec Bohm moved from first base back to his natural third base.

“When Harp comes back, Bohm’s going to be playing third,” Thomson said. “So we might as well do it now.”

Brandon Marsh wasn’t in the lineup but said he felt “a lot better,” according to Thomson, after exiting early from Tuesday night’s game with a sore left elbow.

Marsh hyperextended his elbow on a hard tag when he slid into second base on a leadoff double in the fifth inning. He initially stayed in the game before being replaced in center field by Johan Rojas, who started Wednesday against a right-handed pitcher.

After a disappointing first two months, Marsh has five hits in seven at-bats over his last three games. Even so, he’s batting .241 and slugging .345 with a .686 OPS.

In need of a fresh arm in the bullpen, the Phillies recalled righty Michael Mercado from triple A and designated Carlos Hernández for assignment, moving the hard-throwing righty off the 40-man roster. Hernández, a waiver claim from the Royals at the end of spring training, posted a 5.26 ERA in 25 relief appearances. … After a day off, Suárez (4-1, 2.70 ERA) is scheduled to start at 6:45 p.m. Friday against Blue Jays right-hander Kevin Gausman (5-4, 3.87).