Orion Kerkering stared down the heart of the Blue Jays lineup without his best weapon on the mound. Kerkering threw his first pitch to Bo Bichette and immediately knew he didn't have it working like normal. His sweeper wasn't up to standard. 

A younger Kerkering would wane on not having the pitch that got him to the major leagues. Now, 24, Kerkering is still a youngin' in major league terms — but wise beyond his years.

"(I'm) not dwindling on 'Oh [expletive], I don't have it,'" Kerkering said. "I'm not going into panic mode where it's like, '[expletive], [expletive], [expletive], I don't have my pitch' kind of thing. Now, it's more of 'OK, it's not there today. What can I do to get off hitters?"

Kerkering threw a sinker to Bichette and got him to ground out. Neither his sinker nor sweeper was locating against Vladimir Guerrero Jr. The count was 3-0 with the Phillies and Blue Jays tied in the eighth inning. Kerkering's next pitch embraced his newfound demeanor on the mound. 

"I'm gonna blow it by you and see what happens," he said. "I don't care if I give up a double, a homer, whatever. If I don't have it against you, I'll get the next guy. It's the next man mindset. '[Expletive] it. I'm just gonna get the next guy." 

Guerrero chased Kerkering's fastball and popped out to first baseman Otto Kemp. Two outs. Alejandro Kirk was up next with the sweeper still not working. 

Kerkering threw the pitch again for a ball and shook off J.T. Realmuto. The sweeper just wasn't there.

Three straight sinkers were called to get the count from 2-0 to 3-2. Kerkering approached Kirk with the same mentality as he did Guerrero. Here's the fastball, hit it. 

Guerrero swung and missed Kerkering's 98 mph fastball for strike three. Kerkering threw a 1-2-3 inning in the eighth inning of a tie game against three hitters with a combined seven All-Star Game selections and three Silver Slugger awards.

He's pitching with supreme confidence right now and has become the most trustworthy reliever in a much maligned Phillies bullpen. 

"It's a mindset," Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. "Trust your stuff. Go get them."

Kerkering didn't have the start that neither he nor the Phillies anticipated in April. Trusted to be a high-leverage reliever in a bullpen that lost Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Estevez in free agency over the offseason, Kerkering had a 6.52 ERA in April – part of a Phillies bullpen that was one of the worst in MLB that month. 

The Phillies reliever was in the big leagues long enough to know his job on the team wasn't in jeopardy. Nor was a minor league option in the cards. 

"Every day is a new day," Kerkering said. "Kind of like how the Philly way is right? You're not as good yesterday as you are today. It's always just have to try to be great that day, whether you have your stuff or not. You're always gonna get out of it. You're not tricking yourself with it." 

Kerkering went from arguably the worst stretch of his young career to easily the best. He's had a 0.56 ERA since May 1 and hasn't allowed an earned run since May 6. Kerkering has allowed just three of his last 12 inherited runners to score when he entered the game as well.

In this 18-game stretch, Kerkering has thrown 16 innings with 14 strikeouts to 10 walks. Opponents are hitting just .149 against him. 

"I'm just trusting (my stuff) more," Kerkering said. "I'm not trying to be too cute or perfect, or overdo the process."

Since Kerkering had his sudden rise to the big leagues in 2023, when he advanced four levels from Low-A Clearwater to pitching for the Phillies in the postseason, Jeff Hoffman has taken him under his wing. 

Hoffman departed the Phillies in free agency and signed with the Blue Jays, but the pair have kept in touch. Kerkering still takes Hoffman's everyday approach with him.

"Trust yourself. Do what you think is right," Kerkering said. "Listen to everyone else and be a good teammate. Always be there for your team, but you are here for a reason. Do what you can to stay here as long as you can, but you have to do what makes you great for you." 

Even with Hoffman no longer in the clubhouse, there are others in the Phillies bullpen whom Kerkering turns to. Matt Strahm has been in his corner as the older brother figure, making sure he has Kerkering's back when needed. 

"He's always trying to make sure I stay in line," Kerkering said with a smile. "If you get off the tracks, just tap me back in. I can get in those weird mindsets where I'm not always there, per se. That's where I was earlier in the year. But just talking to him, that's helped a lot." 

Thomson alluded to the same regarding Kerkering in April. Sure, Kerkering has been attacking hitters, but baseball can beat anyone up mentally. The same happened with Phillies starter Cristopher Sánchez earlier this year.

"Sanchie had a couple of starts where he just wasn't attacking. It becomes a mindset for those guys," Thomson said. "They get hit around a little bit, or they're missing spots. They start thinking about too many other things instead of tunneling their thoughts during that zone."

The confidence is there, and so is the mindset. 

The Phillies are obviously very high on Kerkering, and have been for quite some time. They have given him the opportunity to thrive in high-leverage situations, similar to Saturday's outing, where he faced Bichette, Guerrero and Kirk in a tie ball game. 

The bullpen needed a reliever to step up in the midst of early-season struggles. Kerkering took the bull by the horns. 

"Even if you don't have the best stuff, it's just the confidence they have," Kerkering said. "You don't do good for two outings, they aren't putting you out. That's just two out of 60, let's just say. We're gonna take that risk of putting you out there in that same situation, and you're gonna succeed sooner or later."

Kerkering pitched his way into those high-leverage situations and faced the toughest part of the lineup late in games. Even if the Phillies add to their bullpen come the trade deadline, his role won't be changing. 

He's earned their trust.