PHILADELPHIA — Kyle Schwarber hit two home runs on “Schwarbomb Beach Towel Day” and the rest of the Phillies’ offense did next to nothing Sunday as the Cleveland Guardians bullpen shut down the struggling team with the best record in baseball for a 4-3 win at Citizens Bank Park.
With yet another post-All-Star break letdown, the Phillies lost their fourth straight series and eighth game of the last 12.
… And is that how Bryce Harper would write this changing season script?
“It hasn’t been good,” Harper said. “Obviously myself, I haven’t been good at all. We’ve just got to get better, turn the page and try to have a better series against the Yankees.”
Harper was perhaps a touch hard on himself, since he homered (along with Schwarber, too) the day before in an 8-0 Phillies win. But the superstar and natural born leader knows he has to do much more to help navigate this first really stormy part of the season ride.
Asked if the last dozen games represent “the normal ebbs and flows” of a season, Harper said, “As a season goes you’re going to have your ups and downs, obviously. We’ve had chances to win games, we’ve been in the lead in games and haven’t been able to get the job done.”
Phils manager Rob Thomson, having seen a few more pennant races in his time as a Yankees and Phillies coach and now manager, agrees that this season speedbump has knocked the club a bit off its stride.
Not that it’s unusual or anything.
Thomson said the club has to “straighten some things out” to get back to the team that was running rampant, winning series after series through the late spring and early summer.
“Seems like the days we hit, we don’t pitch and the days we pitch, we don’t hit,” Thomson said. “We’ve got to play clean games on all three sides of the ball, and get back and win series. And get back and win the first game of a series, which is critical.”
Asked if a good series start is the key, Harper demurred.
“I just think we have to get back to winning,” he said. “Obviously when you win the first game of a series it takes a little pressure off yourself, but we’ve faced some good teams, too, and we’ve faced some good pitching as well. I mean, Minnesota’s got some lights out pitching, Cleveland’s got some lights out pitching, too. But we have a rough couple of series coming up with the Yankees and Seattle and LA and Arizona. We just have to keep going.”
And as for navigating this ongoing tough schedule stretch, Harper added, “The superstars have to show up.”
Only then can this season story rewrite be altered again.
Source: Berkshire mont
Be First to Comment