Weekly Recap: Phillies Bullpen Continues to Struggle
The Phillies had a huge opportunity to get back on the right track this past week with a series against the Mets and Cubs.
The weekend ended a lot better than it started.
Mets Series
- Game 1: Mets 5, Phillies 4
- Game 2: Mets 5, Phillies 1
- Game 3: Mets 4, Phillies 3 Final/10
The Phillies struggled mightily against the Mets, starting in game one, in which they were down 5-0 heading into the 9th inning. Bryson Stott made it a ballgame after hitting his 2nd home run of the season, but it was not enough. Game 2 saw Phillies starting pitcher Christopher Sanchez leave early after forearm tightness forced him from the game. The injury is not considered serious, and Sanchez is expected to miss just one start. The Phillies struggled on offense as they did for this entire series, scoring only one run in the loss.
Hoping to bounce back in game three and avoid being swept was the goal for the Phillies. Unfortunately, Jordan Romano would come in for the 10th and give up a double to Pete Alonso, who would then come around to score the winning run off a Starling Marte single. Mets win 4-3 and complete the sweep of the Phillies. The Phillies struggled all series to hit, especially with runners in scoring position. A combination of not hitting and poor pitching led to them being swept by the same team that eliminated them in last October’s playoffs.
Bullpen Nightmare
That is the only way I can explain what the Phillies are doing this season with their bullpen. It’s like the 2014-2016 Phillies era bad right now. They are 29th in the entire league in bullpen ERA, sitting with a 5.28 ERA. Only the Nationals have a worse bullpen ERA. A position that everyone knew was crucial, but still let Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Estevez walk in free agency.
Let’s see how they are doing:
- Hoffman: 2-0, 1.35 ERA, 13.1 IP, 19 SO
- Estevez: 1-0, 2.77 ERA, 13.0 IP, 11 SO
Now, of course, the Phillies didn’t just let two relievers walk without signing one.
Let’s check in on Jordan Romano’s stats so far this season.
- Romano: 0-1, 12.19 ERA, 10.1 IP, 10 SO
I know it’s still early, but this looks like a horrible move that will cost the Phillies more games than it already has. Having a solid bullpen is one of the biggest luxuries in baseball, and we saw that last season. While we still have Straham and Alvarado doing well, it’s difficult to rely only on the same two arms. Orion Kerkering has been performing better lately, but struggled to get started at the beginning of the season.
If he can get back on track as well as Romano, the bullpen will be better, but certainly not by much.
Dave Dombrowski needs to target bullpen arms come the trade deadline, and I’m sure he’s aware of it. You aren’t going to be a competitive playoff team with the second-worst bullpen ERA in baseball. It just doesn’t correlate.
Cubs Series
- Game 1: Cubs 4, Phillies 0
- Game 2: Phillies 10, Cubs 4
- Game 3: Phillies 3, Cubs 1
PHOTO: David Banks/Imagn Images
After being swept by the Mets, the Phillies headed to Chicago for a weekend series with the Cubs, one of baseball’s hottest teams to start the year. Currently in first place in the NL Central, the Phillies needed to stop their skid against a good Cubs team. After losing game one and extending their losing streak to five games, the Phillies responded with a 10-run outburst in game two. Max Kepler homered, Jesus Luzardo threw 6 innings, giving up zero earned runs, and the Phillies were back in the win column. Game three was tied 1-1 until the 10th, where the Phillies scored two runs in the top half of the inning to take a 3-1 lead.
With the game on the line, Rob Thompson went with Jordan Romano to close. While I was screaming at my TV, the announcers on ESPN made a comment about how Romano had been tipping his pitches, which could be the reason why everyone is hitting him lately. Whatever he did this night worked because it took 13 pitches for him to close out the game and give the Phillies the win.
While I haven’t given up on Romano yet, the pressure is now on to perform after a shaky start to the season. The stuff and velocity from Romano are there. It’s a matter of it all clicking at once for him.
Bounce Back Series
After getting swept by the Mets, going to Chicago to face the Cubs was going to be difficult. Taking two-thirds from them was huge, not only for the standings but also for the team’s psyche. The bullpen pitched very well in games two and three of the Cubs series, so hopefully that is also a sign of things to come.
The lineup has been hitting, but the lack of power has also been a concern. I’m not as panicked about this since the weather is finally breaking, and once it gets warmer, we all know this lineup can mash baseballs.
Upcoming Week
The Phillies get the day off Monday before they start a six-game home-stand in which they welcome the Washington Nationals to town during the week, followed by a three-game weekend series against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
I would love to see this team take down the Nats before playing a very good D-backs squad so far this season. A strong showing from the bullpen this week would also be great.
My prediction for the week: Following his three-hit night on Sunday, Trea Turner stays hot throughout the week and leads the Phillies to 5 wins out of the 6 games.
PHOTO: David Banks/Imagn Images
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