WASHINGTON -- The good news for the Phillies during Monday night's win over the Nationals was that Ranger Suárez did not miss a beat in his transition to the starting rotation.

Yet with the club's most consistent reliever now starting, the not-so-good news was that the victory came only after the bullpen squandered a pair of leads. Philadelphia however, remains confident in the 'pen structure the club has set up.

"We've talked about Ian [Kennedy] being our closer and using the other guys later in the games," manager Joe Girardi said. "Archie [Bradley] has kind of been our setup guy the last three or four weeks. Héctor [Neris is] a guy who can do it and do multiple innings. [José] Alvarado -- using him against tough lefties. That's how we've kind of set it up."

The bullpen hierarchy took a bit of a hit on Tuesday when the club placed oft-used right-hander Connor Brogdon on the IL due to right elbow tendinitis. The Phillies recalled Mauricio Llovera to take his spot on the active roster. But it wasn't all bad news on the injury front, as Seranthony Domínguez was expected to begin a rehab assignment with High-A Jersey Shore on Tuesday, an indication that he could factor into the Phils' bullpen mix in September.

Given the recent shakeup, let's take a closer look at each of the key arms who will be called on in big spots for Philadelphia over the next two months.

Héctor Neris
Role: Flexible
The Phillies went from one former closer to another on Monday when Neris followed up Suárez's three scoreless innings with two of his own. Neris has held the opposition scoreless in 10 of his last 11 outings, and he's pitched multiple frames in three of his last seven.

Connor Brogdon
Status: Placed on IL on Tuesday
Brogdon was a logical option to protect the Phillies' 1-0 lead in the sixth inning on Monday, but Girardi instead went with Enyel De Los Santos. The reason became clear on Tuesday when Brogdon was placed on the IL with right elbow tendinitis.

"He just didn't feel right," Girardi said about Brogdon's pregame throwing session on Tuesday. "Upon our exams, we feel that there's nothing really structural, but we'll make sure."

Brogdon's 41 2/3 innings out of the 'pen trail only Neris (44 1/3) among Philadelphia relievers. And while Brogdon has a pedestrian 3.89 ERA, that figure had not fully recovered from his April 20 meltdown against the Giants, in which he allowed six runs in just two-thirds of an inning. Outside of that appearance, Brogdon has recorded a 2.63 ERA in his other 41 outings.

José Alvarado
Role: High-leverage left-hander
With Suárez in the rotation, that leaves Alvarado as the left-hander in the bullpen. Bailey Falter is still on the COVID-19 injured list, and the club's only other southpaw reliever is longman Matt Moore. Thus, the Phillies will likely be calling on Alvarado in a lot of key spots down the stretch.

"He's really important to us," Girardi said.

Alvarado, though, has a 10.13 ERA in 10 appearances since July 1. He's walked 12 batters in only eight innings during that span. Combined with the 10 hits he's allowed, that works out to a 2.75 WHIP.

There's never been any question whether Alvarado has the stuff to be a shutdown reliever, but his control problems have become a growing concern. Those issues cropped up again on Monday when Alvarado -- called on to protect a 2-1 lead in the seventh -- loaded the bases while recording only one out before turning the jam over to Bradley.

"We still love his stuff and know he's capable of running off 10, 12 good games in a row at any point," Girardi said. "Every time he goes out there, I feel good about him. I really do."

Archie Bradley
Role: Setup man
Along with the addition of Kennedy to assume Suárez's spot in the closer role, Bradley's emergence over the last couple of months has made him a viable setup man.

Sidelined for more than five weeks due to a strained left oblique, Bradley was limited to only nine appearances in the season's first two months. He had a 6.75 ERA in that small sample, during which his fastball averaged 92.5 mph.

That jumped to 93.9 mph in June and it's sat at 94.9 mph since the start of July. Pitching for the third time in as many days on Monday night, Bradley's fastball averaged 95.4 mph -- his fastest in any game this season -- and topped out at 96.7 mph. It was the first time this season the Phillies used a pitcher three straight days.

"Archie's stuff might have been the best he had all year," Girardi said prior to Tuesday's game. "So I said, 'If I pitch you today, does that mean it'll go up another mile per hour? I'll throw you every day if that's the case.'"

Girardi acknowledged it's the time of year when he'll call on certain guys to handle more work, whether that's pitching three straight days or four games in five days. As a veteran reliever who has experience pitching in postseason races, Bradley will be near the top of that list.

“I'll be the first to tell you I didn't have the start to the season that I wanted to,” said Bradley, who has a 0.69 ERA since July 1. “For who the Phillies expected me to be when they signed me, I don't think I really performed that way until the last month or so. But I'm here on a one-year deal. I'm here to help this team win. That's why they brought me in: to help this bullpen."

Ian Kennedy
Role: Closer
Kennedy hasn't had the smoothest start to his Phillies tenure, though he's yet to pitch in a save situation. He entered with a 13-run lead on Sunday, then took over with a four-run lead on Monday after the Phils rallied for five runs in the top of the ninth.

In each case, Kennedy allowed two runs (including a home run) while recording the final three outs. Considering the veteran righty allowed multiple runs just twice in 32 outings with the Rangers, the Phillies are hopeful that he'll find his stride as he settles in with his new club.