To spice things up for a new season of The Notes, there will be a new dedicated section called “Sequence of the Week”. This section will break down a fun pitching or hitting sequence that happened during the week.
I’ve done some video breakdowns in the past on TheGoodPhight but this section will be weekly and a bit smaller. Maybe there are plenty of other people doing it, but I haven’t seen many, so it seems like an original idea.
Sequence of the Week: Andrew Painter’s strikeout on James Wood
There
were many impressive signs with Andrew Painter’s outing against the Nationals. His fastball command was great, the changeup became a huge weapon the second time through the Nationals lineup, and his composure seemed top-notch for someone making their big league debut.
But if there was one highlight that summed up so much of what Painter did well against the Nationals, it was what he did against James Wood to finish off the fifth inning.
He missed a four-seam fastball up in the zone, an uncompetitive take from Wood. However, it does help him with dropping a steal-a-strike curveball. Painter dropped several of those against a heavy left-handed Nationals lineup but a high four-seam fastball can keep hitters slightly off balance.
The backdoor and backfoot slider played like a weapon on Tuesday night. He struck out Keibert Ruiz earlier in the game on a backfoot slider, but he mostly used the pitch to backdoor it to left-handed hitters.
Wood swung at this one because Painter tried throwing one earlier to him. The movement and late reaction because of the high heater still gets him a whiff.
Because Wood took the curveball for a strike and just saw a backdoor slider that started above the zone, he will have to respect the outside part of the plate. JT Realmuto goes back to the high fastball and Wood can’t layoff.
Best outfield ever (except for Otto Kemp)?
It’s not but the outfield showed up for the first six games in a big way. Justin Crawford flashed some solid early count swing decisions, especially on his walk-off Wednesday afternoon. Brandon Marsh has worked the best at bats overall and is hitting the ball hard.
Then there’s Adolis Garcia, who worked great at bats against the Nationals and has shown an early spike in his bat speed. It is early, and it might be hard for him maintain for him because of his age but Garcia’s average bat speed is the highest it’s been since 2023.
Through the first week of 2026, the Phillies outfield ranks 9th in wRC+ and 4th in strikeout rate. Will it hold? Probably not but still a good sign.
The defense has been more impressive than at the plate, and more sustainable. This sliding play by Garcia had a 20% catch probability, and he made it with ease. This is the kind of play Nick Castellanos was never making as a Phillie because of his very limited range and straight line speed.
Justin Crawford flashed some leather in the second game of the season and has generally looked fine in the field otherwise.
Marsh, Crawford, and Garcia have plus speed and range for their positions. This could end up being the best all-around outfield defensively the Phillies have put together under Dave Dombrowski.
Except for Otto Kemp.
