Phillies, 'a really good team,' unable to prove it against Yankees

PHILADELPHIA -- The Phillies look lost.

They believe they will find a way back eventually, but they have dropped 11 of 15 games since they swept the Dodgers before the All-Star break, including Wednesday’s 6-5 loss to the Yankees at Citizens Bank Park. It is the first time the Phillies have been swept in a series at home since July 22-24, 2022, against the Cubs.

“You don’t want to play the game this way,” Bryce Harper said.

It is difficult to believe they have played like this for so long. The Phillies were on pace to win 113 games on June 8. They had a 10-game lead in the National League East on July 5. They had everything clicking. Now, Cleveland owns the best record in baseball, while the Dodgers are just two games behind them for the best record in the NL and the Braves are just 6 1/2 games behind them in the NL East.

The Phils have made the final two months of the regular season more interesting than they wanted them to be.

But there is no panic.

“I mean, we’re a damned good team,” Harper said. “It’s not that hard. It’s baseball. It’s kind of the way the game works. But like I said, we don’t want to play the game that way, but we’re a really good team. We’ve got really good players in here. We’ve just got to keep going.”

There are many reasons why the Phillies are losing. The rotation has a 4.21 ERA in the past 15 games, more than a run per game higher than the first 93. The bullpen has an eye-popping 8.06 ERA in that span. It is walking more batters, which has hurt several times. The defense has been sloppy on occasion. The offense is batting .225 with a .699 OPS.

Harper’s offensive struggles are leading the way. He is in a 1-for-30 slump, which is the worst of his career and the worst by a Phillies hitter since Rhys Hoskins’ 1-for-36 skid in June 2021.

“I thought it was way worse,” Harper said.

Harper went 0-for-5 on Wednesday. He struck out with runners on second and third and no outs in the fourth inning. He grounded into a game-ending double play in the ninth.

“Just try to bail out of it the best I can,” Harper said. “I felt my at-bats were better today. I saw a lot of pitches, so that’s good. But, yeah, just got to find a way.”

Phillies manager Rob Thomson and his players have been asked the past couple of days about the potential for a clear-the-air team meeting.

Not necessary, they said.

Not yet, anyway.

“No, just so you guys can write about it and tell everybody we talked? No,” Trea Turner said Tuesday. “Those things are for when guys are being lazy, you have a bad culture, you’re not working, you’re not putting the work in. We don’t do those things. We work our asses off, we’re in the cage, we’re out in the field, we’re doing all sorts of things. It’s just, we’re playing bad. That’s what it comes down to.”

Thomson said he spoke to his players before last weekend’s Guardians series.

“I think it’s bringing up the facts,” he said. “You’ve got to get back to normal. You’ve got to just try to do the things that you do best. And not try to do too much. So get strikes, hit strikes, use the field, pass the baton. If you’re a pitcher, you’ve got to throw strikes, you’ve got to trust your stuff and attack and try not to do too much.

“There’s a time and place to have a team meeting and get everything out in the open. I don’t think I’m there yet, but I think in public and on the bench and during the games, I think it’s important to stay calm. It’s important to make sure they understand or they know that you’ve got everything in order.”

The Phillies think they are close. Austin Hays nearly hit a couple of homers on Wednesday. Both fell just in front of the left-field fence. One of those balls clears the wall, and maybe everything changes.

“Just missing that last ball to fall or that one big hit,” Hays said. “This team is built to win games. I see it in everybody’s eyes. They’re ready to win, and we’re putting ourselves in a position to win. We’re going to get the big swing. We’re going to get the ball to fall.”

The Phillies flew to Seattle on Wednesday. They open a three-city, 10-game road trip on Friday night.

They will clear their minds on Thursday.

“I’m excited to turn the page to August,” Harper said. “I think probably a couple other guys are as well.”