![]() ![]() The occasional public recognition, now occurring more than ever, is a result of Phillips' play. "He throws strikes, gets ahead, works quick," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. That 23% mark is the best among Dodgers relievers who’ve inherited at least 10 runners this year. Of the 22 runners Phillips has inherited this season, only five have scored. ![]() He has thrown the most high-leverage innings of any Dodgers pitcher, and he boasts the highest win probability added of all Dodgers relievers. 174 batting average against him in those scenarios. In fact, nearly half (44.8%) of his appearances have come with the tying run at the plate, the tying run on base, the go-ahead run at the plate or the go-ahead run on base. ![]() With Blake Treinen and Daniel Hudson both out for much of the season, Phillips has stepped in as the fireman, the player the Dodgers turn to with the game in the balance. The journeyman 28-year-old holds the top ERA (1.22) and WHIP (0.75) among all qualified NL relievers. Phillips is worth more wins above replacement than any other Dodgers reliever this year. He also happens to be the best healthy reliever on the best team in baseball, the star of a Dodgers bullpen that holds the lowest ERA in the National League despite a litany of significant absences. "I think I’m a pretty stock, generic white guy," the 6-foot-2-inch, clean-shaven reliever said. Phillips thanked the stranger for saying hello, still surprised anyone would recognize him, especially among a team full of superstars. Late last month, with the Dodgers in New York City to face the Mets, Phillips was with his wife, Elizabeth, getting a bagel and a cup of coffee for breakfast when he was approached by a man in line. "I get the same response from everybody," Phillips interjected. "He had added me the first time we played," Vesia said. Vesia found out about Phillips’ nickname through his Call of Duty gamertag. For the Dodgers, video games have helped bring the relievers even closer. Spending hours together every day in a bullpen forges relationships and bonds, particularly by season’s end. A team’s relievers are often a close-knit group, a family within a family. ![]()
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