LA Dodgers' Evan Phillips rebounding nicely from nasty July skid

The beauty of baseball is that there are boundless opportunities to start over again. With each passing sunrise and sunset, a new game is played to provide players the chance to erase any recent hardships and help their team win on that brand new day.

Thankfully for the Dodgers' Evan Phillips, a new day has turned into a new month.

Phillips had a nightmare July, allowing 10 earned runs in 10 appearances off of 14 hits and three walks, ultimately losing his job as the closer for the Dodgers.

He turned in a 2.217 WHIP, the worst of any month in the last five seasons (minimum four innings pitched).

The UNCW product registered 24 saves in 2023 and had been projecting upward since 2022. He even began the 2024 campaign with eight saves by the end of April before landing on the injured list with a hamstring strain, foreshadowing a dim stretch of games for him.

It has been a rollercoaster of a year for Phillips, but he is beginning to step up again as the Dodgers are desperate for pitching health.

Though Phillips is not the closer, he has shined in August. In five relief appearances, he's yet to surrender an earned run, spanning 3 2/3 frames alongside eight strikeouts.

He even dialed up the victory on August 11, tossing one inning against the Pirates in the 6-5 victory, improving to 3-0. He also recorded his third hold of the season on August 10.

Thanks to his strong numbers in August, his ERA has dropped from 4.18 to 3.75

LA Dodgers' Evan Phillips Pitch Breakdown

Phillips has yet to throw a cutter in August, and for good reason.

Opponents were batting .375 off his cut fastball in July, a pitch he used 18.5 percent of the time last month.

He also elected for the sinker over 22 percent of the time in July, and batters were 5-for-8 off that pitch. Phillips is still using his sinker in August, but has dialed it back to 10.9 percent of his offerings, per Baseball Savant.

This month, Phillips' fastball and sweeper has dominated the zone, combining for two hits allowed across 11 at-bats.

This combination has led to him being in the 98th percentile in average exit velocity against, and in 2024, Phillips has seen just 33 balls struck 95 MPH or faster off his pitches, which is tied for the second fewest among National League pitchers this season (Tanner Scott, 32 and Hunter Stratton, 33).

Evan Phillips is nasty. We all know this.

As the D-backs and Padres both sit 3.5 games back of first place in the NL West, the Dodgers will need more of what Evan Phillips has dished out midway through August.