July 31, 2024
The trade deadline came, the trade deadline went — the Phillies still struggled.
Thanks in large part to utter domination in the season's first half, the Phillies are still well ahead of the competition in the National League, but the competition is no longer submitting to their whims.
The Phils have lost 11 of their last 15 games dating back to July 12, and faltered once again against a similarly struggling contender in the New York Yankees, a team that found its groove at Citizens Bank Park this week by taking all three games in South Philadelphia.
Here are some thoughts we couldn't shake at the end of the three-game set and a disappointing summer homestand:
The Phillies haven't been swept in a three-game series all season. In fact, the team's 6-5 loss on Wednesday completed the Phillies' first sweep since last May, when they lost three games in Queens to the Mets and dropped to 25-31 that season.
It's been mostly sunshine and roses since, with more than 14 months passing since the last time they were shut out of a series that long — they lost one two-game set this year back in the spring. The Phils' four-game losing streak is their worst of the season.
July and an 8-15 record are behind them, and perhaps a change of the calendar can reverse some really ugly trends.
There's no other way to say it: Before the All-Star break, when the Phillies took the field, they were expected to dominate in every single game. And they did. They won the most games in franchise history in the season's first half, had a record eight players earn All-Star nods, and had multiple serious contenders for every single award, ranging from Cy Young to MVP.
The numbers were good, maybe too good. And in a sport with a huge sample size that is ripe for big swings and streaks, the regression toward the mean was coming.
The problem is, the regression apparently arrived for everyone at the same time. Cy Young candidate Zack Wheeler was rocked for seven runs in the series opener, while the bullpen was shaky at times up and down. Aaron Nola was just OK in his start, Cristopher Sánchez surrendered a second-inning grand slam on Wednesday, MVP candidate Bryce Harper went 0-for-14 in the series – deepening his own slump (he is one for his last 29) – and another award hopeful in Trea Turner went 1-for-10.
Not great.
The good news is that everyone is going to eventually work out of their low points. The bad news is it could happen again in October.
The Phillies built a commanding cushion in the NL East and it's still seemingly insurmountable despite the team losing five consecutive series since their statement sweep of the Dodgers before the All-Star break. They've lost all five series openers, and have been both embarrassed by rebuilding teams like the Athletics and Pirates, and trounced by contenders like the Twins, Guardians and Yankees.
| Record | MLB standing | |
| On July 12 | 61-33 | 1st (by 4.5 games) |
| Since July 12 | 4-11 | 29th |
Over the last two weeks (and heading into Wednesday's action), only eight teams have a worse slash line than the Phillies (.226/.295/.377) and only nine teams have a worse ERA (4.56). After their 12-inning loss on Tuesday, they are now 6-7 in extras and a mundane 14-14 in one-run games. Not what you want to see in the clutch.
Baseball has a long season and there is a lot of time to right the ship, but this is a chink in the armor for sure from a previously undeniable force.
In the middle game of the Phillies' three-game set against the Yankees, things got quite epic. The eventual loss was more than winnable at several points during the 12-inning duel, which stood as the longest game of the season so far in Major League Baseball.
• After building a 4-1 lead, former Marlin Jazz Chisholm — a rumored Phils' target acquired by New York — hit two home runs, the second a three-run blast off Matt Strahm. The Phillies blew their first lead in the seventh.
• In the bottom of the ninth, J.T. Realmuto and Bryson Stott hit singles and Kyle Schwarber drew a wild pitch to tie the game at 5-apiece. Bryce Harper grounded out with the bases loaded to force extra innings
• After the Yankees scored on a sac fly in the 11th, Phillies trade deadline acquisition Austin Hays hit a tying RBI single.
• Another sac fly from the Yankees put them on top again in the 12th.
• A quiet 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the 12th ended the nearly four-hour game.
It could have been a defining, momentum-changing win. Oh well.
The schedule will remain absolutely diabolical for a Phillies team trying desperately to find its footing again. After losing series against the contending Twins, Guardians and Yankees, things will not be getting any easier for a while.
A day of rest comes Thursday, followed by...
| Opponent | Record |
| at Mariners | 57-51 (1st) |
| at Dodgers | 63-45 (1st) |
| at Diamondbacks | 57-51 (3rd) |
| vs. Marlins | 39-68 (last) |
| vs. Nationals | 49-59 (4th) |
| at Braves | 57-49 (2nd) |
| at Royals | 59-49 (3rd) |
| vs. Astros | 55-52 (2nd) |
| vs. Braves | 57-49 (2nd) |
Of the nine series the Phillies will play in August, seven of them are against potential playoff teams.
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