NLCS: Seranthony Dominguez Leads a Rebuilt Phillies Bullpen
After an off-season of inactivity, the Phillies got an unexpected haul of pitching help on Friday night when the Red Sox’s Scott Boras swung a deal with the Padres to re-sign veteran reliever Seranthony Dominguez.
Dominguez, who’s spent more than 7,000 plate appearances in the big leagues, figures to be one of the two main pieces in Philadelphia’s bullpen, as he’s pitched in three games this season after dealing with a leg injury earlier in the year. Dominguez worked an inning of relief on Friday while the Phillies dropped a 7-2 decision to the Dodgers.
A former closer for the Angels, Dominguez returned to that role after spending the first part of the 2016 season as a set-up man — or “pinch runner,” as he was once known — for the Red Sox in 2014. But after the Sox put him on the disabled list with a left hip injury, he pitched under a variety of names, including a spot in the Red Sox bullpen in 2014.
“That time just flew by,” Dominguez said after Friday’s game. “There are so many things I want to accomplish, so I’m just focused 100 percent on my stuff and doing the right thing.”
Dominguez is 0-4 with a 4.63 ERA in four career postseason games, all appearances with the Red Sox for whom he’s compiled a 2.86 ERA from 2014-16. But he didn’t allow a run in the Red Sox’s postseason opener last October against the Tigers (he went the distance for the Sox in that game), and that turned out to be the last hurrah for Dominguez as a reliever, as he posted an 11-5 record with 1.94