Phillies closer Jhoan Duran is '100 percent' after getting hit on the ankle: 'It's like nothing happened'

Scott Lauber, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Aug 16, 2025

Published in Baseball

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WASHINGTON — For a few minutes here Friday night, Jhoan Duran wasn’t sure he could put weight on his right ankle.

By Saturday, he was cleared to pitch.

Duran’s speedy recovery after getting hit on the ankle by a line drive and driven off the field on a bullpen cart left the Phillies feeling ... pardon the pun ... relieved to have their new star closer intact.

“I feel good — 100 percent," Duran said before being available to pitch in a save situation, according to manager Rob Thomson. “It’s crazy. Yesterday, I didn’t have the power in my leg, and now, it’s like nothing happened.”

The Phillies got positive news on Duran late Friday when X-rays came back negative. He walked without limping into the training room, received treatment, and walked to the team bus. He awoke Saturday without unusual soreness.

After taking the line drive — 94.1 mph off Paul DeJong’s bat — off the ankle, Duran chased after the ball. But as he crossed the foul line, his foot went numb because he got hit on a nerve.

“He kind of got dead-foot,” Thomson said.

With the equipment for a postgame concert blocking the medical cart, the Nationals sent the bullpen car around the warning track to pick up Duran. By the time it arrived, after a nearly 10-minute delay, Duran told the Phillies’ training staff that he thought he could walk to the dugout.

“I mean, there’s like 20 steps or whatever it is to get up here [to the clubhouse],” Bryce Harper said later. “It was smart to get in the cart probably.”

Said Thomson: “He’s 240 pounds. I don’t want anyone to carry him up stairs.”

The Phillies suspected then that Duran had dodged serious injury, a feeling confirmed by the X-ray results.

But why was he pitching in a non-save situation anyway?

Duran hadn’t appeared in a game for five days, since last Sunday in Texas. He explained that he doesn’t usually like to go that long without pitching; Thomson doesn’t like relievers to go more than four days between appearances.

So, Thomson turned to Duran — and fellow high-leverage reliever Matt Strahm, too — with a 6-2 lead.

“When I have too many days of not throwing, I feel like I lose my control and I don’t like that, you know?” Duran said. “That’s why I wanted to try to be in the game.”

Bohm, Nola on deck

Alec Bohm was en route to Washington and is expected to be reinstated from the injured list before Sunday’s 11:35 a.m. series finale, according to Thomson.

Bohm has been out since July 19 with a right rib fracture. He went 3 for 21 with a homer in a four-game triple-A assignment.

In Bohm’s absence, Otto Kemp (15 games) and Edmundo Sosa (11 games) split time at third base. Kemp is the likeliest candidate to be sent to Triple-A to open a spot for Bohm. Utilityman Weston Wilson also has minor league options.

The Phillies will need to make another roster move Sunday to bring Aaron Nola back from the injured list. Nola (ankle, rib) will be making his first start since May 14.

Nola threw 84 pitches Tuesday night in his third tuneup in triple A and struck out 11 batters in 5 2/3 scoreless innings in Buffalo, N.Y.

“It felt good to get the pitch count up a little bit and get back in the sixth inning,” Nola said. “The arm feels great; the ankle feels good. I’m glad to be able to finally get back on the field and catch and throw normally. I’m just excited to get back on the mound again for these guys and give them a chance to win again.”

Castellanos sits

Right fielder Nick Castellanos was out of the Phillies’ lineup for the second time in nine games, both times against a right-handed pitcher.

It was another “pre-planned” day off for Castellanos, said Thomson, who is running platoons in left field and center field with lefty-hitting Brandon Marsh and Max Kepler and righty-swinging Harrison Bader and Wilson.

Right field is not turning into a timeshare, according to Thomson, even though Castellanos is in a 1-for-33 slump over his last eight games. Castellanos has started all but four of the Phillies’ 123 games after starting all 162 last season.

But it’s also clear that Thomson is trying to work Bader, in particular, into the lineup more often against right-handed pitching. Sitting Castellanos more often is one way to do that.

Thomson noted that Castellanos hit a few balls hard Friday night, including a lineout to center field. Castellanos also threw out a runner at the plate in the second inning.

“I’m trying to get a good mix of getting all those guys in there,” Thomson said. “Because Nick’s going to get hot at some point, and I want to make sure that I know when that is.”

Extra bases

In 100 plate appearances against lefty relievers, more than any player in baseball, Kyle Schwarber is batting .313 with 11 homers and a 1.201 OPS. ... Programming reminder: In addition to the early start time, Sunday’s game will be televised on Roku. ... Nola (1-7, 6.16 ERA) will be opposed in the series finale by Nationals lefty Mitchell Parker (7-13, 5.55).