Taijuan Walker continues his promising spring for the Phillies. But would his renewed stuff translate to the bullpen?

TAMPA, Fla. — Taijuan Walker uncorked a full-count splitter in the dirt to the first batter of the fourth inning Friday night and watched one of his Grapefruit League goals go up in smoke.

“I was really trying to not walk anyone this spring,” he said.

Oh well.

Consider it a testament to how much better Walker is pitching these days that his biggest takeaway from a four-inning, two-run start in the Phillies’ 6-5 loss to the Yankees was a walk that didn’t come back to bite him.

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Making his third start of the spring, Walker’s fastball continued its upward trend, twice scraping 94 mph on the Phillies’ radar gun. (He threw one pitch at 93.9 mph all of last season, according to Statcast.)

And with the renewed velocity, there’s greater separation in speed between the heater and Walker’s signature splitter. He gave up a double to Cody Bellinger and a two-run homer to Ben Rice on mislocated cutters in the first inning.

Otherwise, Walker looked sharp again.

“Everything, movement-wise, is better,” catcher Garrett Stubbs said. “It looks more like Taijuan Walker, the one that we know to be an elite pitcher in the league. And I think he’s headed in that direction.”

In which case, it will beg this question: How will Walker fit into a starting rotation that doesn’t have any vacancies?

Barring an injury to one of their starters, the Phillies could use Walker as a long reliever, or else in a potential trade. They figure to receive some interest from teams that have pitching injuries. The Yankees, for example, have lost Gerrit Cole for the season and Luis Gil for several months. They’re holding open fifth-starter auditions, with 37-year-old Carlos Carrasco taking a turn against the Phillies and striking out six in 3⅓ innings of one-run ball.

All but eight of Walker’s 217 major-league appearances have been starts. After he adhered to a Phillies-recommended offseason program to build back arm strength and velocity, would Walker’s stuff remain as sharp in the bullpen as it has looked as a starter so far this spring?

“Whether he’s a starter or a reliever, I think it’ll be the same,” manager Rob Thomson said. “He’s worked hard at it. I know he’s not thinking about the bullpen. He’s thinking about starting. That’s what his focus is, and that’s what his focus should be. We’ll see when we get there, but I think it should play. I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t.”

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Walker insists he isn’t thinking about it … yet.

“We’ve still got, what, 10 days left [in camp]?” he said. “My main focus is still going out, building the innings, building the pitch count up, and whatever happens at the end happens. We’ve got a lot of off-days the first two weeks, so they can shake some things up and see what happens. But my focus is just going out, doing what I’m doing, and still building on every start.”

Who stood out: Kyle Schwarber tends to be self-deprecating about his ability to play first base. But he stole a hit in the second inning, diving to his right to snare Dominic Smith’s hard grounder and flipping it to Walker covering first.

Then, there was infielder Christian Arroyo, who notched two more hits and is batting .370 (10-for-27) this spring. Arroyo, a right-handed hitter, is competing for the final bench spot as a nonroster invitee. But he also has extensive major league experience, mostly with the Red Sox.

“He hits,” said Thomson, who intends to get Arroyo more time in the outfield before camp ends. “And he’s played in a market [Boston] that’s pretty hot. I like that about him.”

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On the mound: José Ruiz, Joe Ross, and lefty Tanner Banks pitched in relief of Walker. Ross and Ruiz each recorded a scoreless innings, while Banks allowed an earned run.

But nonroster reliever Guillo Zuñiga gave up three runs in the ninth to give the Yankees a walk-off victory. Former Phillies farmhand T.J. Rumfield hit a game-tying two-run homer against Zuñiga before Jesus Rodriguez walked, stole second, and scored on Brendan Jones’ single.

Quotable: “Guys always give me [stuff] whenever I’m in the field, right? It’s fun. You’re able to smile and laugh. You can take it, give it back. But I like it, too. It’s a challenge. It’s a learning curve. It would be the easy thing to just come here and pick up a bat, but if I can get dudes off their feet, I want them off their feet, especially if they need it.” — Schwarber, the Phillies’ primary DH, on playing defense.

On deck: The Phillies will host the Tigers at 1:05 p.m. Saturday, with Zack Wheeler scheduled to oppose reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal. Spring training or not, that’s worth the price of admission.