Phillies learn valuable lessons from a tough series in L.A.

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PHILADELPHIA, PA – MAY 17: Cole Irvin #47 of the Philadelphia Phillies throws a pitch against the Colorado Rockies at Citizens Bank Park on May 17, 2019, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Phillies defeated the Rockies 5-4. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

The Phillies got swept in a measuring stick series this weekend against the Dodgers. Here are a few things this series revealed about the Phillies

That was ugly. The Phillies had a measuring stick series this weekend against the Dodgers in Los Angeles. They got swept. Here are a few things this series revealed about the Phillies

They Need a Left-Handed Starter

This was a bizarre series for the starting rotation. Jake Arrieta got torched for four home runs in his start Friday night. They didn’t have a starter at all Saturday as they went with the opener (more on that later) and Nick Pivetta somehow managed to throw six shutout innings on Sunday.

The pitching staff did a reasonably good job against an outstanding Dodgers offense (except for the eighth inning on Sunday), but this series still demonstrated the increasingly severe need for a left-handed starter.

All of the Phillies starters are right-handed, and most of the Dodgers lineup is decidedly not right-handed. The Dodgers have one of the most sinister lineups in baseball (sinister is the Latin word for left-handed, bet you didn’t know that!). Max Muncy, Corey Seager, Joc Pederson, Alex Verdugo and that Cody Bellinger guy are all left-handed, and what’s the best way to get left-handed batters out, class? That’s right! With a left-handed starter! (I’m sorry, I’ve been awful condescending so far, I’ll stop).

Cole Irvin is the only lefty the Phillies have had start this season, and he allowed two runs in 3.2 innings on Saturday. The pitching staff as a whole has been underwhelming. Jake Arrieta and Zach Eflin are the only starters with an ERA under 4.00, and Arrieta is just barely under at 3.96.

Lefties are batting .285/.364/.521 with 49 homers against the Phillies this year. If the Phillies are going to make a deep postseason run, they’re going to have to go through some tough lefties. I don’t see them doing that with their current rotation. Luckily for the Phillies, there are some excellent left-handed starters potential available, most notably Dallas Keuchel and Madison Bumgarner.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 01: Pitcher Jose Alvarez #52 of the Philadelphia Phillies pitches in the second inning of the MLB game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on June 01, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Victor Decolongon/Getty Images) /

Gabe Kapler Mis-Managed the Bullpen

I wrote an article last month defending Gabe Kapler. In it, I gave him some credit for the Phillies recent success and praised him for doing a better job of managing his pitching. He sure made that article look like one of my patented #freezingcoldtakes this weekend!

Kapler’s use of the bullpen this weekend was baffling. In his infinite wisdom, he decided to have Jose Alvarez open Saturday’s game, before sending Juan Nicasio in to get one out and having Irvin and Vince Velasquez (both of whom have started this season) pitch 4.2 innings.

Surprisingly enough, this strategy was effective on Saturday (L.A. only scored four total runs) but came back to take a Jaws-sized bite out of Kapler’s backside on Sunday. It all started when he pinch-hit for Nick Pivetta after six shutout innings and 82 pitches. That move made sense at the moment, as the Phillies, who were in a scoreless tie at the time, had two men on, and two out.

It didn’t work out though, as Phil Gosselin struck out, and Velasquez came on in relief and promptly allowed a home run to David Freese. Things got ugly in the eighth though, as Kapler turned to Edgar Garcia and Yacksel Rios, who combined to allow SEVEN RUNS IN ONE INNING. The Phillies bullpen was forced to pitch 13.1 innings this weekend (including Irvin’s 3.2) and allowed 13 runs.

Kapler’s use of the opener Saturday made absolutely no sense to me. If Irvin was available, why not just have him start? And why were he and Velasquez pulled after 60 and 21 pitches respectively?

Sunday may have been even worse though; I still can’t wrap my brain around why Rios and Garcia were brought in instead of J.D. Hammer, who has yet to allow a baserunner in his three outings, hadn’t pitched at all in the series and has arguably the coolest name in MLB history.

In Kapler’s defense, it must be noted that the Phillies were missing six relievers this weekend, including their best lefty in Adam Morgan, but Kapler still has to do better

PHILADELPHIA, PA – MAY 18: Hector Neris #50 of the Philadelphia Phillies in action during a game against the Colorado Rockies at Citizens Bank Park on May 18, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /

This Team Isn’t Clutch

The Phillies have allowed four walk-offs already this season, but haven’t had any walk-off wins of their own. The offense has had some clutch moments, and the bullpen has had its clutch moments, but they can’t seem to put them together in the same game.

Saturday night was a great example as Bryce Harper hit a game-tying homer in the eighth (clutch), but Hector Neris gave up a walk-off homer in the ninth (not clutch). A team needs to be clutch to win the playoffs (think of Boston’s obscene two-out numbers last postseason) and right now, this team isn’t that.

The Phillies aren’t World Series Contenders

Let’s be real; this team is good, probably good enough to win the N.L. East, but I don’t think they’ll have much success in October.

This series showed the National League pecking order; the Dodgers are alone at the top, the Phillies, Cubs, Brewers and maybe the Braves are a step below, and the gap is significant. The Phillies have shown they can beat Chicago, Milwaukee, and Atlanta, but they’ve fallen flat against Los Angeles.

More from That Balls Outta Here

True, the Phillies played L.A. tight except the eighth inning Sunday, but they still lost all three. A genuine contender would have found a way to salvage at least one of those games.

The good news is, it’s still June, and the Phillies have time to become a real contender. It feels like this team is one move away from really making some noise in the postseason. If they acquire a top-flight lefty starter at the deadline, get their bullpen healthy, and figure out how to consistently get the most out of their offense, this team can play deep into October.

Ricky Bottalico had a good quote on this past series with the Dodgers:

“If you wanna go to the World Series, you have to beat a team like [the Dodgers]” he said. “Which means you just had your measuring stick, what did you think? Now go and make the team better! Beat that team!”

dark. Next. How many draft picks do the Phillies have?

Hopefully, the team can take this sweep at the hands of the Dodgers and use it to recalibrate and improve moving forward.

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