Dutch Ulrich

In 1925, the Philadelphia Phillies of the National League added Ulrich to their roster. He made his major league debut with them on April 18, pitching a scoreless inning and striking out a batter in a 14–13 victory over the Boston Braves.[7] He served as a relief pitcher in the first part of the season, not pitching more than 3+1⁄3 innings in a game through July.[7] On June 30, he relieved Huck Betts to start the ninth inning of a game in which the Phillies trailed the Brooklyn Robins by a score of 9–7. Philadelphia tied the game in the bottom of the inning, and Ulrich, after pitching a scoreless ninth, threw a scoreless 10th. Milt Stock led off the 11th inning with a double against Ulrich but was retired in an unusual double play. Zack Wheat hit the ball back to Ulrich, and Stock was caught in a rundown between second and third. Amidst the confusion, Wheat tried to go to second base and was retired with Stock still active on the basepaths; Stock was then retired trying to go to third. Ulrich finished his third scoreless inning of work and was credited with his first major league win when Jimmie Wilson hit a game-winning single in the bottom of the inning.[8][9] After July 15, Ulrich was sent back to Waterbury, where he won six of seven decisions and posted a 1.00 ERA in 63 innings of work.[5][7][10]

In September, Ulrich rejoined the Phillies and was added to their starting rotation. He pitched 10 innings in his first start back on September 4, giving up six runs in a 6–5 loss to the New York Giants.[10] After that, he did not complete another start until the second game of an October 3 doubleheader, when he gave up nine hits but no runs in a 3–0 victory over the Giants, his first major league shutout.[7] In 21 games (four starts), he had a 3–3 record, a 3.05 ERA, 29 strikeouts, 12 walks, and 73 hits allowed in 65 innings pitched.[4] Though his winning percentage was just .500, this was the closest he would ever come to having a winning season in the major leagues.[3]

The Phillies played at the Baker Bowl during Ulrich's tenure with them.[11]

Ulrich began 1926 as a relief pitcher but was used as a starter during the season as well. Many of his starts came from June 24 through July 22; after starting the year with an 0–5 record, he got his first win on June 28, holding Brooklyn to four runs in a complete game, 9–4 victory.[12] He had a 4–3 record and a 3.55 ERA during this stretch. After being used more in relief in August, he served exclusively as a starter in September. His record was 4–12 through August 24, but Ulrich then won four games in a row.[13] On September 1, he held the Braves to four hits in his only shutout of the season, a 3–0 triumph.[14] He held the Cincinnati Reds to six hits and one run in a complete game, 5–1 victory on September 25.[15] In 1926, Ulrich had an 8–13 record, a 4.08 ERA, 52 strikeouts, 37 walks, and 178 hits allowed in 147+2⁄3 innings pitched.[4] He made 45 appearances for the Phillies in 1926, tied with Jakie May for the fourth-highest total among NL pitchers (behind Jack Scott's 50 and Claude Willoughby's and Pete Donohue's 47). However, his 13 losses tied him with sixth other pitchers for 10th in the league.[16]

As he had in 1926, Ulrich began 1927 as a relief pitcher. He only pitched three times in April and May. Though he made three starts from May 28 through June 9 and a fourth start on July 3, the rest of his appearances through July 20 all came in relief. Beginning with a start on July 22, 14 of his final 16 outings were starts.[17] On August 5, Ulrich entered a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates with one out in the seventh inning, runners on second and third base, and the Pirates down by only two runs after already scoring three times in the inning. He got future Hall of Famer Kiki Cuyler to hit into a double play which scored a run but ended the inning. In the ninth, with Philadelphia up 9–6, Ulrich allowed a couple of singles, and the Pirates loaded the bases with one out. Future Hall of Famer Lloyd Waner hit into a fielder's choice to score a run, and Cuyler came to bat again. This time, Ulrich struck him out, preserving the 9–7 victory.[18] In the first game of an August 13 doubleheader, he threw his only shutout of the season, against Boston once again in a 7–0 victory.[19] He had back-to-back one-run complete games on August 22 and 27. In the first, he held the St. Louis Cardinals to four hits but suffered the loss, as future Hall of Famer Jesse Haines threw a shutout.[20] In the latter, which was the first game of a doubleheader, he allowed seven hits and was the benefit of two runs as he defeated the Chicago Cubs by a score of 2–1.[21] From August 5 through September 5, though his record was only 3–4, he posted a 1.14 ERA.[17] This brought his ERA for the season down to 2.64; it was still under three until his final game of the season, the second game of a doubleheader against Boston on October 1, when he gave up eight runs in eight innings in an 8–6 loss.[17][22] In 32 games (18 starts), he had an 8–11 record, 42 strikeouts, 40 walks, and 201 hits allowed in 193+1⁄3 innings pitched.[4] He finished seventh in the NL with a 3.17 ERA despite pitching for a Phillies team that lost 103 games.[3][23] Ulrich's 4.6 Wins Above Replacement figure was eighth among NL pitchers, his walks plus hits per innings pitched figure of 1.247 ranked 10th, his 1.862 walks per nine innings pitched ranked ninth, and he did not commit an error on the mound all season.[23] After the season, he finished 23rd in the vote for the NL Most Valuable Player Award voting.[24]