Just days after Bryce Harper was placed on the 10-day IL, the Phillies were swept by the Pirates and are now 4.5 games back of first place in the NL East. Is it time to hit the panic button?
Not Very Sunny In Philadelphia
After being swept by the Pirates this past weekend, the Phillies now find themselves losing nine of their last 10 games and are in the middle of a five-game losing streak. The offense has completely disappeared, scoring just six runs throughout the entire Pirates series. Despite not having Bryce Harper in the lineup, this is an offense that is still capable of beating a Pirates team with the rest of the guys in their lineup. Many key players have underperformed over the past week, including Bryson Stott, Max Kepler, Johan Rojas, and JT Realmuto, with the entire pitching staff also being inconsistent. All of the glaring issues this team had coming into the season are showing. While it’s still early to hit the panic button, the Phillies need to figure it out quickly.
With Bryce Harper being sidelined for the next couple of games, the team needs contributions from the other key leaders. Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner have put together great years so far. Turner is hitting .300 and leads the NL in hits, while Schwarber is second in the NL in homers. If they can get better production from Bryson Stott, Nick Castellanos, JT Realmuto, and Max Kepler, this lineup will start winning more games.
The pitching has been a major cause for concern over the last week, especially due to the back-to-back rough starts for Jesus Luzardo, who looked phenomenal throughout the first two months of the season. Over his last five innings pitched, Luzardo has given up 20 earned runs. I don’t think Luzardo is this awful pitcher all of a sudden. I believe something with his mechanics was tipping pitches to opponents because no one goes from being dominant to giving up 20 earned runs in five innings just like that. I’m very curious to see how he bounces back against the Cubs this upcoming week. Luzardo pitched well against them earlier in the year on the road.
Despite losing both games, Ranger Suarez and Christopher Sanchez both pitched well against the Pirates, each giving up two runs over seven innings pitched. This was a much-needed good sign that both Suarez and Sanchez seem to be returning to last year’s form.
Aaron Nola had a setback in his rehab assignment, so he will be out longer than expected. Mick Able pitched well in Toronto and will be making his third career start against the Cubs on Wednesday night.
The bullpen had another shaky week, which isn’t surprising at this point. The biggest issue this team has is having an extremely inconsistent bullpen. Some nights they look elite, another night it’s rough. Adding bullpen arms at the deadline is going to be a major need for the Phillies.
One last note, the Phillies called up Otto Kemp, who has been putting together a great year in Triple-A. Top prospect Justin Crawford also looks more and more MLB-ready as he progresses in Triple-A. It would not surprise me to see Crawford on the major league roster come August. As for Kemp, I can’t wait to see what his offense brings to this Phillies lineup, which has been struggling.
Returning Home
The Phillies return home tonight to kick off a three-game series against the Chicago Cubs (40-25), who are in first place in the NL Central. The Phillies took 2/3 from the Cubs at Wrigley Field early this season. They have a day off on Thursday, followed by a three-game weekend series against the Toronto Blue Jays (35-30), who just took 2/3 from the Phillies last week in Toronto.
The Phillies will look to snap their five-game losing streak tonight when Zach Wheeler takes the mound for the first time since the birth of his child. Let’s hope some new dad strength can help him get the win.
My prediction for the week: The Phillies snap out of the cold streak and win 4/6 games this week.
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