Phillies Drop Second Straight, Shut Out By Cardinals

The Phillies struggled to find the sweet spot in Friday night’s matchup against the St. Louis Cardinals, collecting a total of three hits in the 2-0 loss. The Phillies have scored only one run in the last seventeen innings of baseball, showing major concern.

Sure, Friday’s struggles may have been a result of Thursday night’s, or Friday morning’s, loss against the Atlanta Braves. After an ongoing rain delay, the Phillies dropped the series finale in eleven innings of play. With that, the Phillies arrived for their series against the Cardinals at around 3:00 a.m., which may have been a key cause for the lack of bats tonight.

In this league, however, there is no room for excuses, meaning the continuation of specific issues needs to be resolved quickly. At 8-5 now on the season, the Phillies need to find a way to wake up the clubhouse and its struggles.

Nola’s Struggles Continue

Aaron Nola has had a difficult time getting out of jams and dotting the strike zone, something that has not been an issue before. In five innings pitched, Nola threw ninety-three pitches, fifty-six of them being strikes.

Nola allowed two runs on five hits and a shocking four walks. Even through his periods of struggle, Nola has always found a way to get an out and avoid a walk. That has not been the case this year, and it definitely showed tonight. In a one-run game and the bases loaded, Nola seemed uncomfortable and out of rhythm, as he walked in the second run to make it a two-run ballgame.

Although striking out seven batters and limiting the runs to two, Nola has regressed in his tenth season, showing his frustration on the mound with his body language. Though it will be a hefty task, it will be interesting to see how Nola plays out his coming starts after his first three performances on the bump.

Bohm and Marsh’s Slumps Hit Rock Bottom

Once again, Alec Bohm and Brandon Marsh put on the collar with concerning at-bats. Bohm went without a hit in three at-bats, lowering his average to .151 on the year. Considering the start to Bohm’s 2024 season, there is little hope going forward to see growth and improvement. Each and every game, Bohm shows more and more despair.

With Marsh, who went 0-2 with a walk, recurring issues find their way into his head. Even in his fourth year with the club, he is yet to show his ability to hit off lefties; he has not been able to use the entire field, nor has he had much power to show for.

Dominant Innings from Relievers

Although a concern heading into the season, the three bullpen pieces used in tonight’s game came in and got the job done. No runs were given up by relieving pitchers during their three innings. Although there was no run support from the bats tonight, the bullpen made sure to pick up Nola and keep the door closed.

Jose Ruiz attacked the zone very well. With only ten pitches in the sixth inning, eight of them were strikes, closing that opportunity for the Cardinals. Carlos Hernandez also had a great pitch count at twelve pitches with eight strikes in the seventh. Tanner Banks‘ break looked sharp as well in the eighth.

In total, each relief pitcher had a strikeout and threw under fifteen pitches, which is really impressive, looking back at past innings from the bullpen. Despite the outcome of the game, the bullpen was certainly fun to keep an eye on.

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