Phillies’ Bats Go Cold in Philadelphia, Leaving with Little to No Optimism for Game 3
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - OCTOBER 04: Bryson Stott #5 of the Philadelphia Phillies reacts to striking out in the ninth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers in game one of the Division Series at Citizens Bank Park on October 04, 2025 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
After a massive disappointment in game one, the Phillies hoped that their bats would recover from the lack of effort, as they struck out 12 times with little to show for it. All three of the Phillies’ runs in game one came in the bottom of the second inning, with J.T. Realmuto‘s triple starting a rally. This was not the case, as they would only collect three more hits the entire game.
The biggest disappointment, however, has to be the fact that the top three in Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, and Bryce Harper all went for a combined 1-11, a batting average of .091.
Game two had turned out to be no different at all, as swings and misses carried over and hits were nowhere to be found. A single to center off the broken bat of Edmundo Sosa was all the Phillies offense had to show for the first seven innings.
Though the Phillies started to find a groove after a triple from the pinch hitter in Max Kepler, a strikeout from Schwarber, and a fly out from Harper ended the hope in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Kyle Schwarber, who heard “MVP” chants throughout this season in Philadelphia, has gone 0-7 in the span of both games, while Nick Castellanos, who kept the Phillies’ hope alive last year during the playoffs, had only one hit during these two games.
Schwarber, Harper, and Stott all going hitless leads to lots of questions.
After two runs scored in the bottom of the ninth, the Phillies were not able to tie the game, as the hits came too late for the Phillies.
Not only are the cold bats disappointing, but it is especially devastating for Cristopher Sanchez and Jesus Luzardo. The Phillies were not able to give any support to their starter, who both pitched absolute gems.
With the travel day tomorrow, the Phillies head out to Los Angeles to face the Dodgers at their house for game three, down 2-0 in the series, the worst possible case scenario for the Phillies. If the bats continue to freeze, it is more than likely that the Phillies will suffer a sweep in the divisional round to the Dodgers, whom they had played so well against throughout the last few seasons.
The Phillies need to start jumping the Dodgers’ starter on Wednesday night in Yoshinobu Yamamoto from the gate, as there is no time to waste after failing to perform in South Philadelphia.
If not, their season will come to a close.
Luke Raidy
Luke has covering the the Flyers and Phillies for Philly Sports Reports since 2025. He is a junior at North Penn and being a huge Philly sports fan has brought so many experiences, such as going to the NLDS, NLCS, and even the World Series in 2022. He has also met former superstars in the city of Philadelphia, such as Wayne Simmonds from the Flyers. Though being a student-athlete, Luke enjoys his time where he is writing and reporting on Philadelphia sports.
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