Credit: Allan Henry-USA TODAY Sports
When the 2024 Phillies season highlight video comes out, they might want to skip over what happened Saturday night.
The Phillies offense was non-existent. Aaron Nola struggled to command his pitches and Yunior Marte, who may have thrown his last pitch in a Phillies uniform this season, lit the whole game on fire in the seventh inning, allowing seven runs on six hits and a walk, while recording just two outs.
It all added up to an 11-1 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks and left fans with more questions than answers about how this Phillies team can continue to flounder after looking unstoppable for the first couple months of the season.
They are now 24-29 in their last 53 games after getting off to an historic start that had them on pace to challenge the major league record for wins in a season. That ship sailed long ago, now it’s just a matter of righting the ship in time for October, and not coughing up home field advantage in the process.
Finding more consistency on offense would be a good place to start.
The Phillies knack for going cold – especially with runners in scoring position – has been a constant refrain ever since baseball started mattering in Philadelphia again in 2022.
Their overall numbers in these “clutch” spots aren’t nearly as bad as the cacophony emanating from social media or the talking heads on your local television or radio station might insist it is, but in the moment, it certainly feels problematic.
Namely, the last two games in Arizona, where the Phillies went a combined 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position. That stat sticks out even more since they lost both games.
“It all goes back to fundamentals,” manager Rob Thomson said. “You have to be able to use the field and you have to make contact. We’re not doing that right now. We’re chasing a little bit.”
Here’s what it looked like on Saturday night alone in at bats with runners in scoring position.
Top 1st – Brandon Marsh struck out looking.
Top 1st – Nick Castellanos grounded out to third.
Top 3rd – Marsh flew out to left.
Top 4th – Johan Rojas grounded out to third.
Top 5th – Bryce Harper grounded out to shortstop (RBI).
Top 5th – Alec Bohm strikes out.
Top 5th – Marsh walked.
Top 5th – Castellanos lined out to third.
They didn’t have another opportunity after that, but by the seventh inning, everyone was already looking ahead to Sunday.
That’s because Marte was torched by the Diamondbacks. His inning went like this – walk, single, double, strike out, home run, single, single, strikeout, home run.
Marte saw his ERA balloon to 7.12 for the season, and it will probably finish there. There’s no guarantee, but there’s a probability that he gets sent back to the minors as soon as Sunday, or maybe they will wait until the team arrives back home and make the roster move then when travel for both Marte and whoever would replace him a bit easier.
Nola (11-6) was uncharacteristically hittable and wild in the same game. He allowed nine hits and three walks in just five innings. Arizona scored four runs off him (three earned). It felt like it could have been more, and he even admitted it postgame.
“I just wasn’t getting ahead (in the count) all night and that obviously hurt me,” Nola said. “I’ve been pitching with a lot of traffic on the bases and not getting many 1-2-3 innings. I’ve been kind of inconsistent in that area.”
Not a power pitcher, Nola’s success comes from his usually pinpoint accuracy and command, both of which he had a tough time controlling on Saturday.
“Right now, it’s either off the plate or over it,” he said, meaning he’s not hitting his spots on the corners of the strike zone and is either getting behind in counts or leaving pitches in spots that can be hit hard. He gave up two home runs against Arizona.
IT’S OFFICIAL
RHP Taijuan Walker (right index finger inflammation) will rejoin the Phillies and make his next start on Tuesday at home against Miami. Originally it was thought Walker could pitch as soon as Sunday, but his schedule got pushed back a couple of days as he bounced around rehab locations in both Double-A and Triple-A.
Meanwhile, LHP Ranger Suarez (back spasms), who was also targeting a possible return this weekend, has been pushed back even further and now likely won’t pitch for the Phillies during their upcoming six-game homestand. Instead, the Phillies are eyeing his return once they go back on the road on a trip to Atlanta and Kansas City later this month.
The last injury update centered around RHP Spencer Turnbull, who backed off on his throwing down in Clearwater, Fla. after experiencing some soreness. He is taking about a week off and will be back on the mound next week. It’s looking more and more like a September return for Turnbull.
ON DECK
The Phillies will play the final game of their 10-game road trip on Sunday and look to finish it with a .500 record and win the season series from the Diamondbacks, which is important if the teams end up with the same record. LHP Cristopher Sanchez (8-7, 3.27 ERA) will throw for the Phillies against Merrill Kelly (2-0, 2.19) who will be making his first start since mid-April after spending most of the summer rehabbing from a right shoulder strain.
