We have reached the point in the season where each win is critical. With as well as the Cubs and Padres are playing right now, the Phillies need to win as many games as they possibly can, playing with some kind of verve in order to make the playoffs.
What we’re getting is another embarrassing performance like we saw today.
It wasn’t all bad. Andrew Painter made two bad pitches in this game, one to Carson Benge in the second inning.
Another was made to Francisco Alvarez in the fifth inning when the Phillies were in desperate need of a shutdown inning after taking a 3-1 lead.
Even after the Mets taking a 4-3 lead, the Phillies had a chance. Only down a run, the offense had just scored three whole runs the inning prior! They were capable of getting more.
Yet this supposedly invisible barrier that is three runs has apparently prevented them from scoring any more or any less than that. Having met their quota, they proceeded to enter a cocoon of swinging at pitches out of the zone and having rather useless at bats.
Then came the bullpen.
Brooks Raley? He can’t get guys out any more.
Chase Shugart? Fine I guess, but do you really have any faith in him.
Jose Alvarado? Hey – he didn’t give any runs!
Orion Kerkering? I’ll almost guarantee he has an “injury” which caused him to bad today. Nevermind all the weeks before where he continually gave up runs in key situations.
The lackadaisical way the team seems to be going about these games is grating on the nerves. The plate appearances they are having are some of the more inept ones we’ve seen from the team, even among the many games they have struggled. There is chase, confusion and quite honestly, the fewer pitches Brandon Marsh sees at the plate, the better. The bullpen outside of Jhoan Duran and maybe Alex McFarlane is just one giant gas can sent into fire after fire.
This is not a good team right now and they should be embarrassed by how they are playing.
