It’s panic time — Phillies shutout 5-0 against the visiting Marlins
Philadelphia Phillies' Bryce Harper, left, reacts to being called out on strikes by umpire Brennan Miller, right, during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
Normally I try to be on the more cautious side of things when it comes to flat-out saying a team is bad, but we all went through the same thing with the Eagles just this last season.
Let’s get one thing clear, the Phillies are bad. Right now, they’re absolutely horrible. The key phrase is “right now.” There are still 43 games left in the season, so plenty of time to right the ship.
Before we touch on all that, let’s get into tonight’s disaster class, which felt like a summary of the second-half Phillies crammed into 9 innings.
The Phillies got shutout by the 3rd worst pitching team in MLB
Valente Bellozo had shown immense promise in his small sample size so far in his rookie season. He brought with him an impressive 3.05 ERA. Despite that, there is no excuse for being shut out at home, especially by a rookie. Bellozo is talented, but this is supposed to be a World Series-caliber offense, and there was none of that tonight.
Hitting with runners in scoring position wasn’t even the main problem because it almost never happened! Even then they still went 0-3. The Phillies got booed again, and again, and again as they were completely outclassed by a rookie pitcher.
With all that said, credit where credit is due Valente Bellozo is electric. He walked into one of the hardest stadiums to play in as a visitor and threw an absolute gem. The kid plays with a ton of energy which you love to see, and the Marlins are hoping he can be a pillar in the new culture they’re trying to build.
Special Double Agent Taijuan Walker
Taijuan Walker made his much-dreaded return to the mound tonight after recovering from his injury. Safe to say nothing has changed. Against the shell of the Marlins post-trade deadline, Walker could only make it a whopping 4 innings.
Walker’s final line was 4.0 IP, 3ER, 4K, 3BB
The remaining runs just felt cruel in how they occurred. An errand throw from JT Realmuto trying to throw out a runner at third, instead found the outfield allowing Xavier Edwards to cross home plate. Then in the 9th Carlos Esteves had one of the more interesting innings I’ve seen in a minute. He threw only 5 pitches.
Pitch 1: Single
Pitch 2: Double Play
Pitch 3: Home run, 5-0 Marlins
Pitch 4: Strike
Pitch 5: Flyout
Panic Time Already?
As I said right now, the Phillies are an awful baseball team. Plenty of time to turn it around, but it’s awful right now. The Phillies have blown their chance of having an easy road to the #1 seed. The Dodgers have surpassed them as of the moment, and the Diamondbacks, Padres, and Brewers are all within striking distance.
Since the All-Star Break the Phillies have the 9th worst offense in MLB, the 8th worst pitching in MLB, they’ve hit 41-180 with RISP (.227), and The second-worst record in MLB (7-16).
The only reason they still sit comfortably in the NL East is because the Braves haven’t been much better. And all we can really do is hope the leaders on this team step up. There is no more talent to be added. On paper, this team should still be dominating like they were before. If this slump is going to end, it starts with Rob Thomson. He is still here as the manager because of his ability to rally the team, all the way to the World Series just a couple of years ago. He led last year’s Phillies out of an early-season slump, and I believe he can do the same thing this year. Now all that’s left is for him to hopefully prove me right.
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