Phillies offense stumped by Skenes in 2-1 loss

A common thread has appeared for the Phillies during this season. The team can’t hit without Bryce Harper in the lineup.

With Harper recently being sent to the 10-day IL, the Phillies have scored just 2 runs in their last 2 games. In games where Harper didn’t play this season, the Phillies have hit .198. This factor, combined with an NL Cy Young candidate in Paul Skenes on the mound, was the perfect storm for the 26-40 Pirates to complete their sweep of the Phillies, winning all 3 games by 1 run.

The Phils have lost 9 of their last 10 games.

Lineup goes 3/28

The offense could get nothing started all day long against Skenes. The only run the team scored came off the bat of Rafael Marchan in the third inning. After that, the Phillies proceeded to not get a single hit until the top of the 9th inning as Skenes had one of his most dominating performances of his short career.

The middle of the lineup couldn’t do anything with the 3-7 hitters combining to go 0-15 on the day. When Trea Turner tried to start a rally in the 9th inning with a 1-out double, there was a flicker of hope that the Phillies could pull away in the last minute. That hope immediately disappeared when Alec Bohm then grounded into a game-ending double play.

There are plenty of more stats and numbers I could throw in to emphasize how lifeless the bats were today, but it all points back to the same problem. No Harper, no offense.

In games where Harper plays, the team is 36-21, an elite record. In games where he doesn’t? 1-7 and being swept by the Brewers and Pirates. This is a relatively new problem for the team. Just last season, the Phillies boasted a 10-7 record without their first basemen and an 18-18 record the year before in 2023.

Bats like Nick Castellanos, Kyle Schwarber, Turner, and plenty of others need to step up in these games if the Phillies want to stay afloat in the NL East race.

Cristopher Sanchez‘s gem wasted

Sanchez has been one of MLB’s best pitchers in the last month, and today was no different. Sanchez pitched into the 8th inning, tallying 9 strikeouts and being credited with 2 earned runs.

Since May 1st, he has been in elite company with a 2.83 ERA and a 2-1 record to go along with it.

Against one of the best pitchers MLB has seen in a long time, Sanchez kept the Phillies in position to win despite being credited with a loss.

After walking Pirates centerfielder Oneil Cruz on just 4 pitches, his day would come to an end after 7 innings of work. Orion Kerkering took over in relief and just got unlucky. A broken bat bloop single for former Phillie Andrew McCutchen scored Cruz from 1st base. 2 runs were all it took for the Pirates to win.

Freefall continues

It’s been an awful stretch of Phillies baseball to watch the last week and a half. They’re 2-8 in their last 10 games and have fallen to 4 games back of the 1-seeded New York Mets and the 5th seed in the wildcard. The NL playoff hunt is not a safe place by any means, with the Giants also sitting at 37-28 and the Cardinals at 36-28.

To make matters worse, the Phillies have a tough next 2 series on the schedule, though luckily both at home. The 40-25 Cubs will come to the bank for the first time since the Phillies turned their season around when they played in April. Then Toronto comes south to play the Phillies again after taking 2 of 3 in the Rogers Center not long ago.

There’s plenty of baseball left for the Phillies to right the ship, but there are plenty of teams ready to leapfrog the Phillies for a wildcard spot if the slump continues.

---

Use code PHILLYSPORTSREPORT for $20 off your first SeatGeek order

Click here to save 10% on any order at FOCO