Painter (3-10) took the loss Saturday, giving up four runs on four hits and a walk over 5.1 innings as the Phillies fell 10-3 to the Mets. He struck out seven.
The rookie right-hander did strike out six or more batters for the fifth time in his last six starts, but homers by Carson Benge in the second inning and Francisco Alvarez in the fifth accounted for all the damage off Painter and put New York in the lead for good. Over that six-start stretch, Painter has put together a 3.57 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 36:10 K:BB through 35.1 innings as he tried to prove he can be trusted in the playoffs. He's scheduled to make his final start of the regular season at home next weekend against the Rays.