3 Phillies to blame for ugly July slump
The Phillies had a rough July and there's plenty of blame to go around.
The Philadelphia Phillies have had a rough go of it recently, and rough might be a bit of an understatement. Let's be honest, they've been in an absolute free fall since sweeping the Los Angeles Dodgers out of town before the All-Star break.
After starting July 6-3, which included that glorious three-game dismantling of the NL West leaders, the Phillies have looked like a shell of their former selves. They followed up the Dodgers set with a series loss to the Oakland Athletics, of all teams, including the 18-3 walloping in the first-half finale.
No problem, we all thought. They'd get a nice reset over the All-Star break and come back on the right foot. How wrong we were. They dropped two of three to the Pittsburgh Pirates and suffered the same fate at the hands of the Minnesota Twins.
That was just an ugly road trip, right?
Nope.
They came home and lost a series to the Cleveland Guardians and then got swept by the New York Yankees. If you're counting, that's five straight series losses. There have been some ugly, hard-to-watch losses, but there have also been plenty of winnable games that have slipped through the Phillies' collective fingers. It's hard to say which is worse.
At 10-14 in July and 3-9 since the All-Star break, they've lost their hold on the best record in MLB, but somehow still have a 6.5-game lead in the NL East.
3 Phillies to blame for ugly July slump
Don't get us wrong, we're not hitting the panic button. This team is too talented and has too many seasoned stars to play like this for the next two months — at least we hope. Manager Rob Thomson agrees, per MLB.com's Todd Zolecki.
“We’re a really talented club that is going through a tough time right now," Thomson said on Monday. "I truly believe we’re going to come out of it because we’re too talented.”
So who's to blame for this recent swoon? There's plenty of blame to go around, but narrowing it down to one or two individuals feels impossible. There have been poor performances all over the field, on both sides of the ball, on the mound, in the batter's box, in the field, out of the bullpen.
The inconsistent starting rotation
The Phillies starting rotation has been downright inconsistent in July. After dominating baseball through the season's first three months with a 2.96 ERA, things have gone sideways for the starters more than once.
Aside from pleasant surprise Tyler Phillips and his 1.71 ERA over three magnificent outings, the Phillies rotation carried a 4.41 ERA into Cristopher Sánchez's start on Wednesday. Sánchez gave up seven runs on July 4 in Chicago and, after a run of three decent outings, was charged with six runs against the Yankees on Wednesday. He finished the month with a 5.82 ERA.
Ace Zack Wheeler looked good in three starts before the All-Star break while pitching around a stiff back, but then got lit up by the Yankees in Monday's series opener. After allowing seven runs to the Bronx Bombers, the right-hander finished the month with a 3.91 and couldn't be the stopper the Phillies needed.
Aaron Nola gets a pass. Among the rotation regulars, he was the most consistent of the bunch, tossing three quality starts and going 2-0 in July. The right-hander finished the month with a 3.45 ERA, right in line with his season 3.43 mark.
Ranger Suárez was also consistent in July, just the wrong way. The lefty made only three starts while battling back soreness before eventually landing on the 15-day IL. He struggled through each outing and finished 0-3 with a 6.61 ERA.
The starters don't need to be perfect, but they need to be consistently better to give the scuffling bats a better chance.
José Alvarado ... and the bullpen
The regression monster has come for the Phillies bullpen this month. Every reliever had an ERA over 5.00 heading into Wednesday's matinee tilt against the Yankees — all except Jeff Hoffman who has been untouchable with a 0.00 ERA.
Matt Strahm had a 6.00 ERA, Orion Kerkering had a 4.50 ERA. The now-departed Gregory Soto (5.00) and Seranthony Domínguez (6.48) didn't help. José Ruiz had an 8.31 ERA, while Yunior Marte came in at 9.00.
But José Alvarado was one of the most prominent bullpen arms riding the struggle bus in July, with an 8.31 ERA in 8 2/3 innings. Because of his late-inning role, his struggles have received plenty of attention. It's been so bad that he has been dropped down the depth chart for the time being.
We're singling out Alvarado thanks to his performance in the opening game of the second half against the Pirates. In a game in which Phillies pitching gave up a pair of three-run leads, the pièce de résistance was Alvarado's ninth-inning debacle. The big lefty came out for the save in a 7-6 game but promptly loaded the bases before giving up a fielder's choice and a walk-off single.
It's just one game in a long, 162-game season, but it set the tone for the second half. We're not saying his blown save is the reason why the Phillies have lost nine of 12 since the All-Star break, but getting off on the right foot would have helped give that weekend series in Pittsburgh a much different feel.
Bryce Harper
Really, the only reason we're singling out Bryce Harper is that he's the leader. Among the veteran stars, the 31-year-old is the face of the team, the superstar that everyone turns to when things get tough. Unfortunately, Harper hasn't been able to come through with the big hit when his team has needed it.
Since July 12, the first game against the A's, the Phillies first baseman was slashing .167/.262/.426 entering Wednesday's game. That line dropped to .050/.136/.200 over the recent homestand. The worst part is that he has had opportunities to make a difference for his team.
Over the first five games of the homestand, he had seven plate appearances with runners in scoring position. He went 1-for-6 in those at-bats, with his one hit being a home run.
Since the All-Star break, Harper has been pressing, walking at just a 4.1 percent clip. Compare that to his 14.8 percent the rest of the season and it's obvious he hasn't been as patient at the plate. He has also seen his batting average drop from .301 to .274 over this stretch.
Is Harper the only top hitter to blame? Not a chance. But when he comes out of it, and he will, the Phillies' fortunes are sure to turn as well. They need it to happen in August.
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