'This is a good team': What's going on with the Phillies?

The Phillies' slow start to the 2023 season has featured no shortage of baserunners -- both for Philadelphia and its opponents.

The problem has been what happens once those guys get on base.

For the Phils, it's been a lot of running into outs on the basepaths or -- when they do manage to push runners into scoring position -- being unable to come through with a timely hit. For their opponents, it's been the exact opposite.

The same held true once again in Saturday afternoon's 13-0 loss to the Reds at Great American Ball Park, which dropped the reigning National League champion Phillies to 5-10 this season.

Matt Strahm, who had not allowed a run in 10 innings through three outings, was uncharacteristically wild over his 2 2/3 innings. He threw just 34 of his 67 pitches for strikes (50.7%), well below his season average of 69.1%.

He managed to limit the damage to one run at the time of his exit thanks to six strikeouts -- but he departed with two on and two outs. Both inherited runners scored immediately when Andrew Bellatti served up a first-pitch three-run homer to Wil Myers -- his second of the game -- on a hanging slider down the middle.

“I think they were sitting on it and he left it up over the plate,” manager Rob Thomson told reporters in Cincinnati. “And they attacked it.”

It’s not the first time an opposing hitter has ambushed a Phillies reliever who entered in the middle of a jam. The ‘pen has allowed 18 of 29 inherited runners (62.1%) to score this season, the highest percentage in the Majors.

That said, it’s not just the inherited runners that are giving Philadelphia's relievers problems. Overall, the Phillies' bullpen carries a 7.19 ERA, second-worst in MLB.

But while the opposition is consistently converting baserunners into runs, the Phils are squandering far too many opportunities of their own. After all, Philadelphia’s 61 runs are tied for the sixth-fewest in the Majors despite ranking fourth in batting average (.277), fifth in slugging percentage (.444) and seventh in OPS (.776).

The key issues: baserunning mistakes and a lack of production with runners in scoring position.

The club's well-documented baserunning miscues continued on Saturday, this time courtesy of speedster Turner. With the Phillies trailing by five in the top of the fifth, they appeared to catch a break when Reds shortstop Jose Barrero not only booted a two-out grounder from Trea Turner with a runner on base, but then sailed his throw wide of first.

Yet instead of having two on with two outs for Kyle Schwarber, the inning came to an end when Turner tried to advance to second and was easily thrown out. That marked an MLB-high ninth time that the Phillies have run into an out on the bases -- not including caught-stealings or pick-offs.

“I think the ball kicked out a little further [off the wall] than he thought,” Thomson said of Turner’s play. “But in that situation, you’ve got to make sure, because we were down five runs. So, it looks bad.”

While the poor baserunning has certainly contributed to the Phillies' lack of run production, the team has also lacked timely hitting. They went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position on Saturday, lowering their season average with RISP to .232. That ranks 24th in the big leagues.

The Phillies’ early-season woes have them off to their worst 15-game start since 2015, when they also started 5-10 on their way to finishing 63-99. And for a team that entered the year with World Series aspirations, it’s worth noting that only four clubs -- the 2002 Angels, 1991 Twins, '79 Pirates and '14 Braves -- have gone on to win it all after dropping 10 of their first 15 games.

“We’ve got to clean up our baserunning, we’ve got to throw strikes, grind out at-bats – and we will,” Thomson said. “This is a good team.”

Though it may be just game No. 16 of 162, Sunday’s series finale would be a good time to begin that turnaround. After all, those 1914 Braves are the only team to win a World Series after losing at least 11 of their first 16 games.