CINCINNATI -- What a difference a year makes.
At this time last year, Taijuan Walker was in the middle of a stretch in which the Phillies lost nine straight times when he took the mound. He had a 7.36 ERA during that span -- one that ended only when he lost his starting spot at the end of August.
For the second straight year, Walker saw his role fade drastically when the games mattered most.
Fast forward to 2025, however, and Walker could suddenly be a key piece when it comes to putting the Phillies in the best spot to win that elusive World Series title.
Walker has more than held his own in each of his three stints as a starter this season. That continued in Monday night's 4-1 win over the Reds at Great American Ball Park, where Walker tossed six innings of one-run ball to lower his ERA to 3.31 across his 14 starts.
“I busted my butt in the offseason,” Walker said. “I wanted to come back this year and just show that I worked hard and I was ready to get back in the rotation.”
The Phillies have an 8-6 record in Walker’s 14 starts, thanks largely to him doing exactly what he did on Monday: Just giving them a chance to win. On a night when Philadelphia didn't have a baserunner until the fifth inning, it was Walker's outing that set the table for Weston Wilson's game-tying double, Trea Turner's go-ahead single and Kyle Schwarber's insurance-providing 42nd home run of the season -- all of which came in the top of the eighth.
“I’ve got a lot of respect for the way he is as a teammate, the way he is as a competitor,” Schwarber said. “And what he’s doing for us right now, it’s just been so huge.”
With Aaron Nola expected back as soon as this Sunday, Walker's viability as a starter provides the Phillies with some flexibility within their rotation -- something that could prove vital down the stretch for the team's most valuable unit.
Especially given the current status of staff ace Zack Wheeler.
Phillies manager Rob Thomson said Wheeler "felt good" on Monday, one day after grinding through diminished velocity in a start that had been pushed back two days due to right shoulder soreness. An MRI taken last week came back clean and, with Wheeler not reporting any soreness the morning after his latest outing, the Phillies insist they're not worried.
But could Wheeler possibly benefit from the extra rest afforded by a six-man rotation?
"I think so," Thomson said. "I think it could benefit everybody, to tell you the truth. We've been riding these guys pretty hard all year."
There's no question about that.
Phillies starting pitchers have racked up 676 innings this season. That's 22 more than any other team. They're also on pace to throw 928 innings, which would be the most by any Philadelphia starting staff since 2014.
And not surprisingly, the bulk of that work has fallen to the guys the Phillies will likely lean on the most come October: Wheeler, Cristopher Sánchez and Ranger Suárez.
Wheeler and Sánchez have each thrown 144 2/3 innings, tied for the seventh most in the Majors. The Phillies are the only team to have two pitchers in the top 10 in innings pitched.
And that's not even factoring in how much they've used Suárez since he made his season debut on May 4. Entering Monday night, only three pitchers had thrown more innings than Suárez’s 107 since that date -- and one of those three was Sánchez (113 1/3).
There's also Jesús Luzardo, whose 133 innings are already twice as many as the 66 2/3 he pitched for the Marlins in an injury-riddled 2024 campaign, and already his second-most in any of his seven professional seasons.
The Phillies are also in the midst of a stretch of 13 games in 13 consecutive days -- going back to this past Friday in Arlington. They will play 24 games in 25 days leading up to Labor Day -- and 39 games in 41 days through Sept. 17.
In other words, there's a case to be made that literally every Philadelphia starter -- even Nola, who may need to be eased back in -- could use an extra breather as the team gears up for what it hopes is a deep postseason run.
With their fourth consecutive victory, the Phils (69-49) extended their lead in the National League East to a season-high six games over the idling Mets (63-55). That makes pulling back on their starters a bit more possible.
And that is due to performances like Monday’s from Walker.
“Really valuable,” Thomson said. “You know one thing, he's going to compete -- and he's not afraid of anything. He's a really valuable person to have on this club.”