NEW YORK (AP) — The Philadelphia Phillies optioned reliever Orion Kerkering to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Sunday after he posted an 18.69 ERA in his four appearances this month.

The right-hander gave up four runs in the eighth inning of Saturday’s 10-3 loss to the New York Mets, after which interim manager Don Mattingly admitted he was concerned about the 25-year-old and uncertain where he could continue using him.

“You have to be able to use him there in a game like that,” Mattingly said, “Not going to try to chase a three-run deficit in that inning. It’s hard to find places to use him.”

Kerkering established himself as one of the Phillies’ most reliable set-up men by going 13-7 with a 2.78 ERA and four saves over the previous two seasons. But he committed a season-ending throwing error in the 11th inning of Game 4 of the 2025 NL Division Series, when he tossed the ball over the head of catcher J.T. Realmuto trying to force Hyeseong Kim, who scored the winning run in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 2-1 win.

Kerkering opened this season with a 2.03 ERA in his first 29 appearances and still had an ERA below 3.00 through July 28. He is 1-1 with a 10.80 ERA and one save in his last 19 appearances.

To replacer Kerkering on the active roster, the Phillies promoted right-hander Max Lazar from Lehigh Valley.

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