The Phillies split an incredibly frustrating four-game series with the San Francisco Giants in which the Phillies floundered at the plate, on the mound, and in the field.
On Monday night, the Phillies would open the series against the Giants, eager to turn the page after an abysmal weekend in St. Louis. Their fans wanted the same, as optimism would linger in the crowd as the game began. After a quick Taijuan Walker inning, that again saw another great pick off at first from the righty, the Phillies would do what felt like the unthinkable: Score runs. They would net 3 runs in the first inning! I didn’t know that was allowed?! Bryson Stott would start the game with a single, and then Trea Turner would immediately follow that up with a double to put runners on second and third. Bryce Harper would strike out, and then Kyle Schwarber would walk. Then the hottest hitter on the team, Nick Castellanos, would come up and lace a single to left field that would make it 2-0. After a JT Realmuto walk, Max Kepler would beat out a double play that would make the game 3-0 as the inning ended.
Heartbreak Ensues
Well, the good feelings would end right there as 11 more runs would be scored over the next eight innings, and the Phillies would only account for one of them. Taijuan Walker would turn the clock back and proceed to look like who we have seen in Philadelphia, and on a combination of hard hit balls and a terrible throw to second, the Giants would net six runs to take a 6-3 lead. After that, the Phillies’ bats would yet again fall silent. Striking out 11 times and scoring once on a Castellanos solo shot in the fifth that made it 6-4 at the time. The Giants would do what the Phillies’ offense appears incapable of doing and would add on to take a rather convincing win, 10-4. The Phillies are again absolutely abysmal with runners in scoring position, including having runners on second and third with no outs and a runner on third with one out and getting zero runs out of it. The starting pitching and bullpen would again be very shaky.
A Tuesday Victory
On a shockingly windy Tuesday night, the Phillies would look to ride southpaw Jesús Luzardo to a rebound victory. He would continue to dominate… at least to start. After a Trea Turner no doubt home run, turned fly out due to the wind in the first, JT Realmuto would fight the elements for his first home run of the season to make it 1-0. Max Kepler would then double, and after an Alex Bohm ground out to push him to third, Brandon Marsh would return to the lineup to hit a sacrifice fly to right to make the game 2-0. Luzardo would hold steady until the fourth inning, where he would allow two runs on some quality baseball by the Giants.
The game would remain scoreless until the sixth, when Luzardo would run into some more trouble and was relieved by Orion Kerkering. While Kerkering would find his way out of big damage in the inning, a fielder’s choice would lead to a run being scored and the Giants taking a 3-2 lead. The Phillies would respond quickly, though, as Kyle Schwarber would lead off the inning with a walk, and Nick Castellanos would then drop in a single to left. JT Realmuto would do the same, and that would be enough to bring Schwarber home and let the Phillies tie it 3-3. Alec Bohm would follow that up with a much-needed hard single to left center that would plate another run, making it 4-3.
Jordan Romano would have another quality inning after his mechanics adjustment, which has seen him stay up around 96 mph+ for a few outings now. The Phillies would strike again in the bottom of the seventh after Bryson Stott would lead off the inning with a tremendous triple. After that, Bryce Harper would hit a towering fly ball to right field that got caught up in the wind and just kept carrying until it was gone. Harper’s third of the year gave the Phillies a 6-3 lead. José Alvarado got hit a little, allowing a run, but keeping the lead at 6-4. Matt Strahm would come in for the ninth and make super easy work of the Giants, only needing seven pitches for the three outs to secure the Phillies a much-needed, 6-4 victory.
Woeful Wednesday
To say Wednesday night was a disappointment would actually be a compliment to the Phillies’ performance. Aaron Nola set the tone with a first inning that would see six guys get on base through three hits and three walks that ultimately gave the Giants a 4-0 lead. The Phillies would respond quickly, though it wasn’t necessarily what they were doing as much as Robbie Ray not finding the strike zone. They would score two runs off of one hit, a wild pitch, and four walks to make it 4-2. Nola would settle in for the next few innings, but the Phillies’ offense would do what they do best. After seeing a pitcher completely unable to throw strikes, they would proceed to bail out Robbie Ray in the second and third innings by being aggressive and swinging at bad pitches.
Things finally felt like they were swinging in the right direction as Bryce Harper would hit a two-run laser off of Ray in the fourth to make it 4-4. The Giants, being the competent team that they are, would respond immediately, and after a throwing error by Johan Rojas, they would take the lead right back at 5-4. That would be a wrap for the Phillies as Josė Ruiz would come out in the sixth and allow two runs in relief of Nola, and then Joe Ross, who does not look like a big league pitcher at the moment, would comically fumble his way through the seventh that again included a terrible play by now centerfielder Brandon Marsh. By the end of the seventh, it was 11-4. The Phillies would show some true grit (he said sarcastically), striking out three times and managing one baserunner, a walk with two outs in the ninth, over the final three innings. The Fightins are 7-59 over their last seven games with runners in scoring position.
Thursday Rebound
The Phillies would look to rebound and salvage a terrible series against the Giants on Thursday afternoon. Cristopher Sánchez would allow a run in the first, but that would soon be forgotten. They would come out with a vengeance in the first inning, jumping a wild Jordan Hicks for five runs while all nine Phillies would come to bat in the first inning. After the first inning, the Phillies found themselves up 5-1. The rest of the game was pretty much paint-by-numbers 2025 Phillies. Sánchez was remarkable all day, striking out a career-high 12 batters. However, after that explosive first inning the Phillies would bail Jordan Hicks out all day.
The offense would only manage five walks and one hit the rest of the game. Sánchez would also need to pitch around some bad defense, too, as Trea Turner would make not one, but two blunders at shortstop. One of which would come back to bite them in the sixth as, after a throwing error, Matt Chapman would hit a two-run bomb to make the game 5-3. After a magnificent seven innings from Sánchez, Orion Kerkering would shut down the Giants in the eighth inning. In the bottom of the eighth, the Phillies would finally add on when April standout Edmundo Sosa would come through with a sacrifice fly that scored Bryce Harper to make it 6-3. That was all, though, and it was time for a José Alvarado save. He would not have his best stuff, and Tyler Fitzgerald would get his second homerun of the series and fifth extra base hit to make it 6-4. That would be it, and Alvarado would close the door for the good guys, closing an incredibly frustrating, four-game split.
Clear Problems
This Phillies team has some clear problems, and it can be exploited against a team like the Giants. The offense is anemic and perpetually bails out bad pitching. Robbie Ray and Jordan Hicks the last two nights had absolutely no juice, but the Phillies refused to let them beat themselves and what should have been two blow out wins, became a blowout loss and close win. They also seem to possess no ability to add on in games, letting their opponent always creep back in. With the offense sputtering, they have needed to lean on their pitching, but that has not been that sharp right now, which is why they are in a tailspin. The starting pitching has been inconsistent, but it is still the stronghold of the team, and the bullpen has been a disaster this year, outside of a few pieces. That being said, they are still 11-8 through nineteen games, the same record they had last year when they won 95 games. Even the team’s offensive numbers are very similar to last year. They played their worst series of the year and still split it with a team that has a 13-6 record on the year. No team so far this year is looking truly unstoppable yet, and if anything, maybe the Phillies are getting all the problems out of the way early? It has been an unsteady two weeks as the Phillies need to make some massive improvements if they want to contend, but they certainly still have the time to do it and will look to get a win streak started this weekend against a bad Marlins team.
Are the Phillies just doing what they do best, or should we be worried? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Threads, BlueSky, or TikTok. Email us at [email protected] and we’ll share the story on the show. Join our Discord for further discussion with the GENY community!