Two Fold Phillies
The Phillies are currently in the middle of their longest road trip of the season.
It started with three games in Arlington, three more in Cincinnati, and is coming to a close with a four-game series vs the Nationals this weekend.
Through the first two series, the Phillies are 4-2 on the road trip.
If you asked any Phillie fan before the road trip started, would they take that record? I think each person would say yes.
But then, when you watch the games and see how they got that record, that answer may change.
The same concerns we have seen in the last few seasons from this group are showing.
The Good
Let’s start with the good. The Phillies were flying post-trade deadline. The acquisition of Duran injected life into the ball club. This carried over into the series with the Rangers. They started the series with a (this era Phillies) classic win. A couple of early runs, ride pitching for the middle of the game, and capitalize late to put the game out of reach.
The next two wins in the series were two of the better wins for the ballclub this season. The Phillies fell behind early, but found ways late to get runs on the board, including a bottom-of-the-order rally off of Jacob DeGrom.
The Phillies ended up sweeping the Rangers for maybe their best series win of the season.
The Bad
After Texas, the Phillies traveled to Cincinnati to take on the Reds. With the team riding high, the boys found a way to win game one.
Walker was great, and a late Phillies rally, capped off by a Schwarber moonshot, secured the victory.
Following the win, the seemingly red-hot Phillies cooled off. Over the next two games, the Phillies scored one run. One run on a 9th inning home run from Bryce Harper.
Over the two losses, the Phillies had EIGHT hits. In Wednesday’s 8-0 loss, they made two errors. They had 6 more hits than errors. You start to feel good about the group, and then they play like this.
Cause For Concern
I tend to be an optimist when it comes to my sports teams winning. The same can be said for this Phillies team. They clearly have one of the better rosters in baseball and have a great shot at winning the World Series. But series like Cincinnati happen, and it doesn’t even look like some of the players belong on the field.
If this were a one-off, we could brush it aside, but it’s not. This is exactly how the Phillies have fallen out of the playoffs in recent years. They ran into a hot Mets team last season, but in prior years, the offense went quiet overnight. Let’s not forget this is the same team that hit 5 home runs in game three of the World Series, only to get no-hit the next game.
Oftentimes this attitude is viewed as negative or “typical Philly fans” because of the Phillies’ record. But to notice the concerns, you have to watch the games. (Much like the 2023 Eagles, who had many flaws but were undefeated, so it didn’t matter until the team collapsed, the lineup doesn’t only go hot and cold.) The production disappears top to bottom. The quality and competitiveness in at-bats are not there. The plate discipline reverts back to the Diamondbacks series. The offensive game plan is non-existent. The offense needs to find a way to stay out of these drastic ruts.
The highs and lows of this Phillies offense are extremely concerning. It has been a trend for this team in the past, and they seem to be following the trend this year.
Obviously, they are a very talented team. They have elite pitching and an elite home-field playoff advantage. But even with all that, in the blink of an eye, the entire offense can disappear.
It will be interesting to observe the consistency of the offense down the stretch.
It seems this team is who they are and won’t change, but for our sake, let’s hope they can figure out how to keep the switch turned on.
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Categorized:Phillies