Taijuan Walker will start on Thursday against the New York Mets, Rob Thomson announced on Monday night.

The Phillies have struggled to find a consistent 5th starter this season, just like every other team in baseball. Walker struggled immensely when he returned from the IL back at the end of April. Kolby Allard had a few good spot starts, but got rocked in his last outing. Seth Johnson has a 34.71 ERA in one start. Tyler Phillips had three good starts and then got hit very, very hard.

Whether you want to believe it or not, the Phillies best option for their last two 5th starter days is Taijuan Walker. He hasn’t been lethal in his three bullpen appearances, but he’s been good enough to earn that spot back. His last appearance, Saturday against the Mets, was his best. He went 3 innings, allowing 3 hits, 0 earned runs, and walked nobody.

Walker has pitched very well against the Mets since leaving NY. Hitters on their roster are slashing just .224/.286/.345 against him with a .631 OPS. Walker got through five innings back on June 9th against New York, allowing just two hits and two earned runs. Pete Alonso, Francisco Lindor, Brandon Nimmo, and Francisco Alvarez are a combined 8 for 52 (.154) against him:

You don’t need Taijuan Walker to go out and throw Game 7 of the World Series. But if he can eat 4-5 innings in two more starts, with one of them potentially having no importance as far as the standings, then you roll with that. Since Walker was pulled from the rotation on August 28th, Phillips, Johnson, and Allard have combined for 18 earned runs, three home runs, and 21 hits in six innings.


If everything goes according to plan, the Phillies will have the division locked up this week, and the final start for the 5th starter, September 24th against the Cubs, won’t have much meaning.