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Backhus will work as Philadelphia's opener Wednesday against the Cubs, Charlotte Varnes of The Athletic reports.
Backhus has made seven appearances for the Phillies this season, giving up four earned runs on seven hits and a walk while striking out nine batters in 6.2 innings. He'll be making his first start in the majors Wednesday and is likely to pitch an inning or two before handing the game over to Taijuan Walker, who is expected to work in bulk relief.
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Phillies' Kyle Backhus: Returning to Philadelphia
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The Phillies recalled Backhus from Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Wednesday.
Backhus will get the call back to Philadelphia as a replacement in the bullpen for righty Zach Pop (calf), who was placed on the 15-day injured list in a corresponding move. Before being sent back to Lehigh Valley last week, Backhus had yielded three earned runs on four hits and one walk while striking out four batters in three innings across his four appearances with the big club.
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Phillies' Kyle Backhus: Sent down to minors
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The Phillies optioned Backhus to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Tuesday, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports.
He's clearing out to make room on the active roster for Orion Kerkering (hamstring), who is returning from a stint on the 15-day injured list. Backhus has yielded three runs with a 4:1 K:BB over three innings out of the Phillies' bullpen this season.
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Phillies' Kyle Backhus: Traded to Phillies
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The Phillies acquired Backhus from the Diamondbacks on Friday in exchange for Avery Owusu-Asiedu, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports.
Backhus is a sidearming lefty reliever who held left-handed hitters to just a .139/.225/.278 slash line in 2025. Righty bats slashed .365/.417/.571 off the 27-year-old, so manager Rob Thomson will have to be judicious with his usage of Backhus.
The Diamondbacks optioned Backhus to Triple-A Reno on Thursday.
Backhus has appeared in 32 games out of Arizona's bullpen this season, recording a 4.62 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 22:8 K:BB across 25.1 innings. He picked up his second save of the season in last Sunday's win over the Twins.
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Diamondbacks' Kyle Backhus: Converts second save
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Backhus pitched a scoreless third of an inning, conceding a walk and a hit-by-pitch before collecting the save in Sunday's 6-4 victory over Minnesota.
Backhus entered in relief of Ryan Thompson to face the left-handed Kody Clemens with two outs and a runner on. The Arizona southpaw then walked Clemens and hit Luke Keaschall with a pitch to load the bases. Backhus finally completed his task by inducing a Matt Wallner flyout on his 13th pitch. The 27-year-old has pitched to a 4.62 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 22:8 K:BB across 25.1 total frames this season. Even with the Diamondbacks bullpen being a mess, Backhus is likely to remain in a middle-relief role.
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Diamondbacks' Kyle Backhus: Unable to hold lead
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Backhus allowed two runs on two hits over one-third of an inning in Monday's 7-5 extra-inning loss to Texas.
Backhus entered the top of the ninth inning to close out Arizona's 5-3 lead but couldn't convert on the opportunity. He wasn't charged with a blown save, but it felt like one. The Diamondbacks' closer spot has been in flux since losing Justin Martinez (elbow), A.J. Puk (elbow) and Kevin Ginkel (shoulder) to injury.
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Diamondbacks' Kyle Backhus: Can't convert save Wednesday
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Backhus (0-2) took the loss and was charged with a blown save against the Padres on Wednesday, allowing two runs on three hits while striking out one batter over one inning.
Backhus got the call in the eighth inning after San Diego put two runners on base with one out. The lefty reliever managed to get the next two batters out to preserve an Arizona one-run lead, but he couldn't carry that over to the ninth. In that ninth frame, Ryan O'Hearn led off with a solo homer that tied the score, and a Jose Iglesias RBI single three batters later gave the Padres the lead while setting Backhus up for the loss. Backhus had earned his first career save two days earlier and appears to be in contention for save chances in an unsettled Diamondbacks bullpen that just lost Kevin Ginkel (shoulder) for at least 60 days.
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Diamondbacks' Kyle Backhus: Earns first big-league save
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Backhus allowed a hit and struck out two without walking a batter over two innings to earn the save in Monday's 6-2 win over the Padres.
Backhus entered the game in the eighth inning when Arizona was up 5-2, and he got a little insurance from his teammates before staying in for the ninth. Backhus was one of three relievers available who hadn't pitched on either of the last two days, so his staying in for a two-inning save was likely a bit of bullpen management by manager Torey Lovullo. The Diamondbacks' bullpen has lost a number of closer candidates, but Backhus is not expected to be at the top of the list -- Kendall Graveman and Jalen Beeks are the current favorites for saves following Kevin Ginkel's (shoulder) placement on the injured list Monday. Overall, Backhus has an underwhelming 3.77 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 16:3 K:BB over 14.1 innings while adding five holds as a 27-year-old rookie this season.
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Diamondbacks' Kyle Backhus: Takes loss in ninth
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Backhus (0-1) was the losing pitcher in Friday's 6-5 loss to the Angels. He allowed one run on two hits and hit a batter over one-third of an inning.
Backhus entered a tie game in the bottom of the ninth inning and got the first batter out, before the Angles walked off with the win. The rookie has emerged as a name to monitor in the Diamondbacks' bullpen, which has suffered a string of injuries to closers. The left-hander entered Friday with a 1.86 ERA and 1.03 WHIP with five holds over his first 10 outings (9.2 innings).
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Diamondbacks' Kyle Backhus: Moving to high-leverage role
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Backhus will be pitching in high-leverage spots going forward, after Shelby Miller (forearm) was placed on the 15-day injured list, Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports reports.
Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo indicated he'll rely on multiple bullpen arms to close out games following Miller's injury. It started with Kevin Ginkel, who closed out Monday's game after Backhus and fellow rookie Juan Morillo worked the seventh and eighth innings. The manager said both rookies will "get their opportunity," although he didn't specifically say they would close games. The 27-year-old Backhus has a 1.86 ERA and 1.03 WHIP with 10 strikeouts and three walks over 9.2 innings since his contract was selected in early June.
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Diamondbacks' Kyle Backhus: Nabs first big-league call-up
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The Diamondbacks selected Backhus' contract from Triple-A Reno on Sunday.
Arizona designated catcher Aramis Garcia for assignment to open up a spot on the 40-man roster for Backhus, a 27-year-old lefty reliever who will be making his MLB debut when he gets into a game. Over his 24 appearances at Triple-A this season, Backhus has logged a 2.22 ERA, 1.45 WHIP and 36:10 K:BB across 24.1 innings.
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