PHILADELPHIA -- This felt great.
It felt great for Taijuan Walker, his teammates, his coaches, his manager and especially his mother. So much has happened to Walker in the past year. So much has been difficult. So, he screamed when he struck out Hunter Goodman swinging with a full-count slider to end the sixth inning in Thursday afternoon’s 3-1 victory over the Rockies at Citizens Bank Park.
Walker helped the Phillies sweep the series, so fans stood and cheered him as he left the field.
“My mom was here today, and I know she loved that,” Walker said. “It made her feel good. So, as long as she's happy, yeah.”
Walker pitched six scoreless innings in his season debut. He yielded three hits and one walk to go with four strikeouts. It was his best start in nearly a year. He returned to the Phillies’ clubhouse after the game to read “a billion” text messages from his mother, Nellie Garcia. She had made the trip from Arizona to watch her son pitch.
“Just super proud, super happy,” Walker said about his mother’s texts. “She said she was up there crying the whole time.”
Walker said the last time his mother cried at a game “was last year when I got booed. Yeah, so. But she’s happy right now. I put a lot of work into the offseason. [The Phillies] put a good program together for me. Just worked hard and grinded it out this offseason and I think it showed.”
Last month in Clearwater, Fla., Walker described last season as a “[expletive] show.”
He wasn’t wrong. Walker went 3-7 with a 7.10 ERA in 19 appearances (15 starts). It was the highest ERA for a Phillies pitcher since 1930 (minimum 75 innings). Walker had health issues last spring. He opened the season on the injured list. Upon his return, he bumped right-hander Spencer Turnbull from the rotation, even though Turnbull had a 1.67 ERA in six starts.
Walker had a 6.50 ERA in his first 14 starts. He got demoted to the bullpen. He did not make the postseason roster. He got booed a lot.
Walker got booed late this spring when he struggled in his final two Grapefruit League starts. He got booed during player introductions on Opening Day in Washington and again before Monday’s home opener. He got booed, not only because he struggled on the mound, but because he had two years and $36 million remaining on a four-year, $72 million contract.
But behind the scenes, Walker worked, while teammates supported him.
Walker is popular in the Phillies’ clubhouse. Manager Rob Thomson still remembers a game last season when Walker needed to pitch a few innings to save the bullpen. He got hit hard.
After each inning, Thomson asked Walker if he wanted to continue.
Every time, Walker said yes.
“People don’t see behind the clubhouse doors what he means to the club,” Thomson said.
“We’ve always been behind this guy,” Kyle Schwarber said. “I think the biggest thing about it all is just the way he handles himself. I feel like he's a guy who comes in, he answers every question after every start. ... I don't know how you could ever knock someone like that to where they come out and they're trying to get better.
“We're not going out there trying to fail. And I think that's just a really cool moment where he comes out and he does his thing. He should feel proud about that and build on it.”
Walker’s sinker on Thursday touched 93.9 mph. He threw six pitches 93 mph or harder. He threw only 27 pitches that hard last year. Walker got 11 swings and misses. He hasn’t had more whiffs in a game since Sept. 11, 2023.
“Just pounding the zone, getting ahead, throwing strikes,” Walker said.
Walker will make his next start against the Braves in Atlanta. How long he remains in the rotation is unknown. He is here now because left-hander Ranger Suárez is on the 15-day injured list.
Suarez could be back in a few weeks.
In the meantime, Walker will try to build off Thursday’s start.
It was something to see.
“I mean, obviously, you don't want to hear [boos] constantly,” Walker said. “But it's part of the game. It's tough to play here. But when you’re doing well and you're winning, it's the best fans to have.”