The second half has seen struggles for the Philadelphia Phillies.
With a record of 62-34 going into the All-Star break, they were the greatest in baseball. The club has lost 12 of its 16 games and has only 66 wins after nearly three weeks.
A marathon like the MLB regular season is bound to have hitches, but this current run of subpar play has at least put the Atlanta Braves within striking distance of the Phillies in the standings.
With two games remaining in the National League East as of Tuesday, the Braves are putting some pressure on Philadelphia. The Phillies have a difficult schedule because every team they have faced thus far in the second half of the season has a winning record.
Most of those games have also been played against opponents in the American League. Philadelphia’s record versus the Cleveland Guardians, Minnesota Twins, Seattle Mariners, and New York Yankees was 3-9.
It won’t get any easier until the next week.
The Phillies visit the scorching Arizona Diamondbacks to round off their west coast tour after their series against the Los Angeles Dodgers is over.
The mailbag of questions Matt Gelb of The Athletic responded to wasn’t as encouraging as others because of their subpar play on the field. Though the front staff was active in filling some of the roster’s voids with the additions of Austin Hays, Carlos Estevez, and Tanner Banks, there are some questions about whether the team could have, or should have, done more before the deadline.
What manager Rob Thomson intends to do with the starting rotation was another intriguing query. After Thomson mentioned using a six-man rotation in the closing stages, Gelb disclosed that those strategies haven’t altered even if the lead in the NL East is getting smaller.
“As long as they have six fit and productive starters to cover the rotation, that is the plan.” Recall that the last two summers, the Phillies have used a six-man rotation. Those were the years they were vying for a postseason spot. As soon as [Taijuan] Walker and [Ranger] Suarez are cleared to return, they might switch to a six-man rotation. In response, Gelb said, “Tyler Phillips has earned that sixth spot.”
Taijuan Walker ought to be added back into the lineup shortly.
Last week, he was given a rehab assignment. Walker might return to the rotation late next week if he manages to make one more minor league start, as Gelb thinks he can.
Although Suarez’s injury was put on the disabled list retroactively to July 24, the team doesn’t think it’s significant.
The Philadelphia Phillies are planning a significant change to their starting rotation. This post was first published on www.si.com/mlb/phillies.
