PHILADELPHIA — Confident a five-game losing streak was indeed behind them, the Phillies were back home again Tuesday night seeking to finish the first full month of the season on a high note.
Or at least an educational one.
Having allowed the Miami Marlins to sneak away with a sweep-preventing 7-5 victory at Citizens Bank Park on April 20, the Phillies promptly hit the road and were swept by the first-place Mets, then blanked last Friday in the series opener in Chicago.
That made it five losses in a row, and made it obvious something was amiss.
“We kind of got exposed a little bit,” Trea Turner said Tuesday before a series opener against the Washington Nationals. “We played a little better in the last two games.”
Indeed the Phillies bounced back in Chicago, taking down the hot Cubs on Saturday and Sunday night. But that doesn’t necessarily mean all is well.
The middle of the lineup had some problems on the six-game road trip, as Bryce Harper hit .087 (2-for-23), Kyle Schwarber checked in at .143 (3-for-21) and Nick Castellanos at .208 (5-24). More noticeable was the lack of power exhibited.
Entering the Nationals series, Schwarber was the team leader in home runs with seven, but hit only one in his previous 15 games. Harper (second on the club with five) had gone his last eight games without a homer, and Castellanos (third with three) also had hit only one in the previous 15 games.
In the first inning Tuesday night against tough Nationals lefthander Mackenzie Gore, Schwarber changed that count by hitting one out for a two-run Phillies lead. Thanks largely to a nice outing by Zack Wheeler, that Schwarber blast helped on the way to a wild, 7-6 Phillies win at Citizens Bank Park.
Overall, however, the lack of home run hitting has been an issue team-wide. The Phillies’ 22 home runs (before Tuesday) literally ranked 27th out of 30 MLB clubs, tied with the lowly Chicago White Sox.
Turner said he didn’t really want to expand on his thought that the Phils “got exposed,” but then he sort of did.
“Some of the weaknesses and things you have to work on,” he said. “Offensively, we could be better. I think we can do everything better, to be honest. … And we haven’t really slugged much.”
Hence that awful home run total, and the almost as bad team slugging percentage. In that category, the Phillies’ .375 ranked only 22nd out of 30 MLB teams before Tuesday. But it’s not like they haven’t had such struggles before.
Said Turner: “We’re not too worried about it.”
“It’s always going to come,” manager Rob Thomson added about his team’s power outage. “It seems like we talk about this every year at this time. If you look at the history of this club, you’d have to figure it’s going to come at some point for them. When that is, I’m not sure.”
Count Schwarber’s latest blast as timely, then.
Harper and Castellanos went a combined 1-for-8, though Harper really stung the ball the first three times he was up.
In the eighth, however, he tried a bunt … a perfect one toward second for a hit.
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What also could have stung was that Jose Alvarado came on in the eighth inning with the Phils up a run, and before anyone knew it the Nationals loaded the bases with no outs. No sweat … Alvarado reared back and struck out the next three Nationals hitters.
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Thomson said starting pitcher Cristopher Sanchez will resume his spot in the rotation and will start Wednesday night against the Nationals.
Sanchez had left after two innings on April 22 in New York due to left forearm soreness. He would normally have pitched in Tuesday’s game but Wheeler was inserted there, since the Phillies had offdays both on Monday and last Thursday.
Sanchez swears all is well.
“He says he feels fine, it was just a cramp,” Thomson said. “We were being cautious. The next day (in New York) he came in and he said he felt fine, he wanted to play catch but we shut that down, just to be cautious.”
And now? “He’s ready to go,” Thomson said.
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NOTES >> Starter Ranger Suarez has had a few minor league rehab starts already, and will throw a bullpen session Wednesday, then make another rehab start shortly thereafter, Thomson said. At some point, he’s going to be overdue in returning to the Phillies’ rotation. Thomson hasn’t ruled out a six-man rotation when that finally happens, but there’s also a question of whether or when Taijuan Walker goes to the bullpen. … Speaking of starters, rookie Andrew Painter will have a rehab start in Dunedin, Fla. on Thursday, pitching for Class-A Clearwater. He’s scheduled to go four innings and about 60 pitches. Thomson said he remains on track to join the club a couple of months down the road. … Brandon Marsh (hamstring) aggravated his injury the other day during a fourth rehab game with Lehigh Valley, but Thomson said he expects him to be back doing that soon. Marsh saw a doctor Tuesday and if cleared, will likely have one or two more games with the IronPigs before making his return. … With lefty Gore on the mound for Washington Tuesday night, Bryson Stott didn’t start. Thomson said it had more to do with utility men Edmundo Sosa and Weston Wilson, both righthanded batters, needing to get some playing time.
Source: Berkshire mont