Phillies 6, Cubs 2: Let’s talk about Caleb Kilian

The Cubs righthander got a chance to show his stuff on Monday. It did not go well.

You didn’t think the Cubs were going to win this game, did you?

Nah. Not with the Phillies one win away from clinching the NL East title and the Cubs going after them with a bullpen game.

It worked about the way you figured it might. Nate Pearson threw a decent first inning, but Caleb Kilian, just up from Triple-A Iowa, got hit and hit hard and the Phillies defeated the Cubs 6-2.

About Pearson’s inning, from BCB’s JohnW53:

Nate Pearson was just the fourth Cubs starter in the past 10 seasons to pitch exactly one inning.

Jason Hammel left after experiencing hamstring tightness vs. the Cardinals at home on July 8, 2015. Cole Hamels left after throwing one warmup pitch before the second at Cincinnati on June 28, 2019.

“Opener” Luke Little retired all three batters he faced at home vs. the Rockies on April 3 of this year.

Cubs starters have thrown exactly one inning 143 times since 1901.

I’ve made a number of social media posts and accounts here of bad umpiring calls. Now, not only are they making bad calls, they appear to be whitewashing them after. Here is called strike three on Michael Busch in the first inning, as I screenshotted it from Gameday on the MLB app on my phone right after it happened:

Here’s what it looks like on the MLB app this morning:

That’s a real bad look, MLB. You can’t change the location of a pitch hours after it was thrown!

In any case, MLB needs to institute the challenge system for the 2025 season. There is absolutely no reason not to.

Kilian entered the game in the second inning, and immediately got hit: Single, force play, two-run homer by J.T. Realmuto. Third inning: Leadoff homer by Kyle Schwarber, then a double by Trea Turner, who was eventually singled in by Nick Castellanos.

Oddly enough, even though Kilian had not pitched well in his previous stints with the Cubs in 2022 and 2023, those were the first two home runs he had allowed in his MLB career.

The Phillies put a single run on the board off Kilian in the fifth thanks to this really poor Cubs defense [VIDEO].

Christian Bethancourt made a bad throw on a pickoff attempt — the Cubs had Bryce Harper picked off — that Luis Vázquez couldn’t handle, and Vázquez was charged with the error. Then Nico Hoerner picked up the ball and threw ... well, somewhere, it wasn’t anywhere close to the plate and Harper scored.

The Phillies made it 6-0 in the sixth on a double play. That’s six runs off Kilian, five earned, in 5⅔ innings, a 7.94 ERA for the game. And that made his career MLB go DOWN. It was 12.42 before this game. Now it’s 11.28. He also issued four walks. And this all could have been worse — the Phillies went 2-for-12 with RISP and left nine runners on base.

More on Kilian’s outing from BCB’s JohnW53:

Caleb Kilian became the first Cubs reliever in more than five years to pitch at least 5⅔ innings.

Alec Mills pitched six (third through eighth innings), also at Philadelphia, in an 11-1 loss on Aug. 14, 2019.

Only two others have done it since the start of 2000.

Eddie Butler pitched seven (between 10th and 17th innings) in a 2-1 loss at Miami on March 30, 2018.

Jamie Arnold pitched 6⅔ (second through eighth) in a 5-4 win at home over the Cardinals on Sept. 22, 2000.

Honestly, I just don’t think Kilian has what it takes to be a MLB starting pitcher. A reliever? Maybe, if he can throw the 98+ he’s shown in the past, but that was not in evidence Monday night. You might remember Kilian throwing six no-hit innings in the Arizona Fall League championship game... almost three years ago, in 2021. Unless Kilian can recover that form, it might be time to move on. He turns 28 next June.

Oh, yes, this game. Well, the Cubs made it a bit interesting in the seventh. Isaac Paredes led off with a double and Hoerner doubled him in [VIDEO].

Pete Crow-Armstrong then walked and Bethancourt singled, loading the bases with nobody out. Could it be... ?

Nope. Patrick Wisdom struck out, and a second run scored on this ground out by Mike Tauchman [VIDEO].

Still, there are runners on second and third and a hit could have made it 6-4... but Michael Busch grounded out to end the inning.

And that, basically, was that. Gavin Hollowell made his Cubs debut, and it was a successful one, 1⅓ scoreless innings. Here’s a K of Schwarber on a nice-looking sweeper [VIDEO].

Hollowell is no savior, but he could be a useful part of an Iowa Shuttle for relievers in 2025.

So the Phillies clinched their division title with this win, their first NL East championship in 13 years, but do not expect them to let up the rest of this series. They are still trying for the best overall record in the NL and thus home field in the postseason.

Justin Steele will start for the Cubs in the second game of this series tonight. Tanner Banks, who the Phillies got from the White Sox for a prospect at this year’s deadline, will get the call for the home team, and as he hasn’t started a game this year, he’s likely going to be an opener for a bullpen game. Game time today is 5:40 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network.