PHILADELPHIA — The Phillies mustered one hit in the first six innings of Wednesday afternoon’s loss, and the whole thing looked a little boring. No one could fault the team with the best record in baseball for sleepwalking one day. Then, in the eighth inning, Bryce Harper grounded out. He yelled. He flung his bat at the Phillies dugout. It sent some players and coaches scrambling.
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There is no such thing as complacency in May — no matter how good the team’s record is. The Phillies (26-12) accomplished their stated task, a better start to the season, and the next challenge is sustaining it into October.
“What happened in the last two years at the end is really motivating for this group,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said Wednesday. “And it’s not just Bryce who is competitive. I think that the entire room is competitive. And they feed off of each other that way. These guys, they come to play every day. They are tough. And they have fun at the same time. So it’s just a really good group. It’s a special group. It really is.”
A frustrated Bryce Harper after grounding out to end the inning. pic.twitter.com/O0WjB6RK3N
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) May 8, 2024
That won’t stop the manager — or the players — from being vigilant. The Phillies won 11 straight at Citizens Bank Park before losing 5-3 to the Blue Jays on Wednesday. They will enjoy a day off Thursday in Miami. Then, they will face one of the worst teams in baseball in a funereal atmosphere.
“There won’t be many people probably at the ballpark,” Thomson said. “So you got to internally create your own energy. We have a good group of people that can do that. They tend to bring it every day.”
The Marlins are 10-29 but will start three lefties against the Phillies this weekend. Two of them, Jesús Luzardo and Braxton Garrett, are making their return from injuries. The Phillies are a superior team. It doesn’t guarantee anything — and Wednesday was a reminder.
“I don’t think you’re going to look around the room and see any happy faces, right?” Kyle Schwarber said. “Everyone’s disappointed after a loss. It doesn’t matter if we’re 10 games above .500, or 10 games below .500. A loss is a loss. Our expectation every time you walk out of the clubhouse is try to win the game. We’re expecting to win the game. And I think that’s a mindset we have to have, especially in this game when you play so many of them.”
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Thomson’s message has hit.
“This game will humble you in a hurry if you think you’re better than what you really are,” Thomson said. “And we have a good club. We just need to keep grinding. Keep playing. Keep being yourselves.”
Down, down, down
Aaron Nola has a 3.67 ERA in eight starts, and that makes him just average by the lofty standards the Phillies’ rotation has established. He allowed seven singles in 5 2/3 innings Wednesday. He did not walk a batter, but that doesn’t mean his command was pristine. These were the locations of the pitches the Blue Jays hit:
The single at the bottom of the zone was a nubber up the third-base line. Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s infield single started the sixth inning. It was a bad omen.
“He just missed some spots,” Thomson said.
It’s been a theme of Nola’s starts: He has not been able to pitch down in the zone like he has in the past. He is aware. He said he is “battling” himself.
“Obviously, trying to get the ball down,” Nola said. “I mean, that’s kind of what got me to this point. Being able to throw the ball down. I feel like it’s just not as consistent right now, but definitely trying to go back to that.”
Nola has found success by elevating his four-seam fastball in two-strike counts. It has netted him some strikeouts. But, when he’s living at 92 or 93 mph, middle-middle fastballs like the ones he threw Wednesday will hurt.
Something to watch. Nola’s next start will come Tuesday at Citi Field against the Mets.
As the rotation depth turns
The biggest reason the Phillies are attempting to play the long game by letting Taijuan Walker prove he can be a back-of-the-rotation starter while squeezing effective starter Spencer Turnbull into an unfamiliar bullpen role is because there isn’t much behind their six starters.
Kolby Allard, signed to a $1 million big-league deal, posted a 7.71 ERA in his first three starts with Triple-A Lehigh Valley. The Phillies moved him to the bullpen last month. He has a 15.26 ERA in 7 2/3 innings as a reliever. Max Castillo, a waiver claim in the offseason, has an 8.54 ERA in six Triple-A starts. He was recently demoted to the Florida Complex League.
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“Just for rest,” Thomson said. “He’s at 220 innings in the past year with winter ball.”
Mick Abel, one of the club’s best prospects, has not thrown well at Lehigh Valley. He has a 6.23 ERA in 21 2/3 innings. The Phillies hope by the summer he is in the conversation if a need arises in the majors. But Abel has work to do.
Tyler Phillips, a 26-year-old righty that club officials praised in spring training, might be next in line after Turnbull. He has a 3.72 ERA in six starts but with too many walks. The Phillies haven’t been afraid to let Phillips go deep; he threw 112 pitches in his last outing against Worcester. David Buchanan (4.11 ERA in six appearances with Lehigh Valley) relies on contact and mixing pitches.
Michael Mercado has moved from the IronPigs bullpen to the rotation. The Phillies are gradually building his pitch count. They might not treat him as a full-blown starter, but they are intrigued enough to keep trying. Mercado, acquired over the winter in a trade with the Rays, is on the 40-man roster. He will have to throw more strikes.
The Phillies purchased lefty Tyler Gilbert from the Reds organization this week. He threw a no-hitter in 2021 for the Diamondbacks but carried a 13.11 ERA in 11 2/3 innings at Triple-A Louisville this season.
Everyone will have a chance to move up on the depth chart.
(Top photo of Bryce Harper: Derik Hamilton / Associated Press)
