Jun 7, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Taijuan Walker (99) pitches against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the eighth inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
PHOENIX – Phillies manager Rob Thomson first revealed his Taijuan Walker-Walker Buehler piggyback plan Wednesday in Los Angeles.
The Taijuan-Walker piggyback, if you will. Or, as Thomson joked, the Walker-Buehler piggyback.
Whichever pun fits your fancy, the duo pitched their way to a win against the Arizona Diamondbacks Friday night in Phoenix.
Taijuan Walker – who shall henceforth be referred to as "Walker" – started the game and had an unenviable first inning.
Diamondbacks All-Star second baseman Ketel Marte took Walker deep on a 1-2 pitch for a solo home run:
Ketel Marte goes up and blasts a tater into the stands 🔥 pic.twitter.com/1Q2XHUyOLA
Walker then gave up consecutive singles to Corbin Carroll and Gabriel Moreno before Blaze Alexander brought in another D-backs run with an RBI groundout.
So, to recap, Walker's first inning: 19 pitches, three hits, two earned runs, one home run.
With the playoffs just eight games away, that's not exactly the inning you want to see.
Thomson told media before the game that he was expecting around four or five innings from both Walker and Buehler, who shall henceforth be referred to as "Buehler."
Walker ended up completing four innings and allowing two more hits, bringing his grand total to five. He finished with two earned runs, one walk and two strikeouts.
"Taijuan, I thought, threw the ball really well," Thomson said after the game. "He gives up the home run in the first inning to Marte ... and then he settled in. Fourth inning was really good."
Buehler entered for the bottom of the fifth and immediately struck out Jake McCarthy. The aforementioned Ketel Marte then hit a 421-foot double that would have been a home run in 29 out of 30 ballparks.
Chase Field, as usual, is a black hole.
Buehler had a similar close call in the bottom of the sixth when Moreno hit a 391-foot flyout. Once again, Chase Field came to the rescue.
Otherwise, Buehler worked through 3 2/3 scoreless innings before things unraveled in the bottom of the eighth. He allowed a single to Marte and then walked two straight to load the bases with two outs.
Tanner Banks entered the game to get one out and protect a 5-2 late-game lead. He did just that by getting Jordan Lawlar to pop out on the second pitch of his at-bat.
After the eighth inning was all said and done, Walker finished with two hits and no earned runs while walking two and striking out three.
"Buehler came on, and, yeah, really effective until that last inning, those last two hitters," Thomson said.
Again, before the game, Thomson's goal was for both pitchers to go four or five innings. Walker held up his end of the bargain. Buehler almost held up his. Banks and Max Lazar closed out the 8-2 win.
The Phillies' playoff starters are all but set in stone: Cristopher Sánchez first, then Ranger Suárez and Jesús Luzardo, and, should they need a fourth starter, Aaron Nola. Therefore, Walker and Buehler are both being viewed as multi-inning bullpen relievers for the postseason. If they can fill those roles and avoid losing steam, it would be a great boon for the Phillies' World Series aspirations.
The Phillies will use the duo once more in the regular season against the Miami Marlins, but their order will be switched due to matchups. Buehler will start the game, followed by Walker.
The two Walker-Buehler piggybacks will undoubtedly greatly influence how Thomson chooses to utilize his bullpen options during Red October.
