Phillies' Star Rookie Continues to Shine

The Philadelphia Phillies were having major struggles in their bullpen down the final stretch of the regular season.

Blown saves and late inning runs became the storyline for the relief staff who had been one of the best units in baseball to begin the season.

Because of this, the Phillies wanted to take a look at one of their rising rookies in their minor league pipeline who worked his way from Single-A at the beginning of the year to Triple-A.

After one game at the Triple-A level, Philadelphia saw enough to call-up Orion Kerkering to their Major League roster.

He's been dominant ever since.

In three appearances for the Phillies, Kerkering has allowed only one run on three hits and has struck out six batters.

He's known for his sweeping pitch that catapulted him up through the minor league ranks into playing a big role at the MLB level late in the season.

Manager Rob Thomson turned to the 22-year-old in the seventh inning of Game 1 when Philadelphia was still protecting a two run lead.

Kerkering delivered when facing big expectations once again, not allowing a single hit in the seventh during his three up, three down performance.

Thomson liked what he saw enough to put the rookie back out there in the eighth inning when facing the best part of the Atlanta Braves' lineup. His night ended after walking Ronald Acuna Jr. during the first at-bat.

Still, it's clear that Kerkering has become a weapon for the Phillies out of the bullpen.

No moment seems to be too big for him no matter what the circumstances are that he's thrown into.

Philadelphia will continue to lean on this rookie, who has continued to shine in his first postseason experience.