PHILADELPHIA — This has been an abysmal three games for the Phillies. A week ago, they completed a sweep of the Marlins in Miami, something they hadn’t done since 2010. It was a series so impactful that it left fans and media wondering if this team was truly different.
But any optimism about the 2022 Phillies was quickly dampened on Sunday, after they were swept in three games by the 38-57 Cubs. It was their second three-game sweep of the season. The other was at the hands of the Mets, a team that is actually in playoff contention. The Cubs are fourth in the NL Central standings, and as of Sunday, are 13 games out of the third NL Wild Card spot.
The usual culprit — the Phillies’ offense — cost them in their 4-3 loss on Sunday afternoon. They out-hit the Cubs, with nine hits, but only drove in three runs. The hitters who did drive in runs were mostly players at the bottom of the lineup, with the exception of an RBI single from Rhys Hoskins in the sixth inning. Over their last seven games, the Phillies are batting .200/.269/.337 as a team, which ranks seventh worst in the National League.
Interim manager Rob Thomson shuffled up the lineup ahead of Sunday’s game in the hope that it would spark their offense, but the bats stayed quiet. The Phillies are now 49-46 and face the World Series champion Braves in a three-game series starting Monday.
Bailey Falter probably can’t be the long term solution
Left-handed starter Bailey Falter, who was recalled from triple-A Lehigh Valley ahead of Sunday’s game, pitched two smooth 1-2-3 innings and then ran into trouble in the third and fourth innings. He allowed a home run to Yan Gomes, two walks and hit a batter in the third, and another home run to Gomes, a home run to Nelson Velazquez, and a single in the fourth.
In all, Falter pitched five innings, allowing five hits, four earned runs, two walks and three home runs with five strikeouts. He has a 5.06 ERA over his last six starts (and seven games). He has been filling in for Zach Eflin, who has been on the injured list with a right knee bruise since June 28 (retroactive to June 26) but with Eflin’s timetable uncertain, it would behoove the Phillies to prioritize starting pitching ahead of the trade deadline on Aug. 2.
Most of the Phillies’ starters have the ability to go six, seven or even eight innings if need be. That length is part of the reason why the bullpen has been dominant of late. Falter hasn’t shown the ability to do that yet, at least not at the big league level. He hasn’t gone past five innings in a big league start this season.
If Eflin were coming back in a week, this wouldn’t as big of a deal. But the cumulative effect of Falter’s shorter starts over the last half of the season will cause some wear and tear on the bullpen.
Bats remain quiet (again)
As mentioned above, it’s the Phillies’ more veteran hitters who have been struggling. Kyle Schwarber is batting .071 over his last seven games. Rhys Hoskins is batting .154 over that span. Nick Castellanos’ struggles at the plate have been well-documented and have been occurring all year. Didi Gregorius is three for his last 25. This isn’t exactly a winning formula, and the Phillies won’t be able to count on the Day Care to bail them out. Something has got to change there.
