The Phillies' starting rotation needs to fix its strikeout rate
As for the starting rotation, things haven't gone much better than the bullpen.
Phillies starters led the majors with a .222 opponent batting average through July 11. Now hitters have been batting .285, which is the third-worst mark. With an ERA that has ballooned from 3.17 up to 4.72, the rotation hasn't been nearly as reliable.
They still have one of the best ground ball rates, but with a strikeout rate that has dropped from the fourth-best 23.8 percent to the third-worst 17.8 percent, they are missing their spots leading to more balls in play. Those balls are going for hits. Opposing hitters had a .269 BABIP through July 11. Since then it's up to .320.
Not to single out Cristopher Sanchez — he's not the only starter riding the struggle bus over the last month — but his Sunday start is the most recent example of starters not executing their pitches. As NBC Sports Philadlephia's Corey Seidman points out, Sanchez missed over the plate a lot with his sinker and changeup, leading to a career-high 12 hits.
"Left a lot of pitches in the middle of the plate and created a lot of foul balls which created a lot of pitches," Thomson said about Sanchez's start, per Seidman. "They didn't really hit his changeup but they did a good job of fouling it off and when they hit it, it found a hole some place."
And that's how it has gone for the starters: when they make a mistake, opposing hitters take advantage and find a hole on the field. Luckily, this is fixable. They need to start executing their pitches again. Fingers crossed that it happens soon.