Phillies stars overcome by Yankees in fifth consecutive series-opening loss originally appeared in NBC Sports Philadelphia
Asked to call it a weekend if he thought the first-place Phillies had done enough by Tuesday’s trade deadline, Bryce Harper said “superstars need to show up” down the stretch.
The stars appeared on Monday night, they belonged only to the Yankees.
Aaron Judge scored a first-inning home run off Zack Wheeler, and after the Phillies got within one run, Juan Soto hit a bases-loaded two-run double to cap a long fifth-inning at-bat to keep the Phils in check.
The Yankees then destroyed every pitcher the Phillies threw, homering all five times in the lineup in the Phillies’ 14-4 loss.
Wheeler (10-5, 2.94 ERA) was clearly wrong on this one. He was walked three times in the first two innings by umpire, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Ben Rice. He faced the minimum in the third and fourth before a troublesome fifth-inning rally that began with singles by eight- and nine-hole hitters. Not the recipe you want, with Soto and Judge appearing in the two and three spots. The duo went 5-for-10 with two homers, two doubles, six RBI and four runs scored.
The Phillies ended up with backup catcher Garrett Stubbs on the mound for the second time in 11 games. It’s the fifth series in a row they’ve lost and they risk losing their fifth series in a row overall if they don’t respond on Tuesday and Wednesday.
“We’re really good right now,” Wheeler said of the team’s mentality during the crisis, “we just need to figure it out and play a little better across the board. We are a very good team and you can’t always be good. You will go through these stretches in one season. We don’t like it, the fans don’t like it, nobody likes it, but it’s part of the game. It’s a long season and you’re going to get through it. We just have to figure it out.
There was a big game-changing chance in the bottom of the third, but a bases-loaded situation yielded just one run. Kyle Schwarber walked to carry them with one out, but Trea Turner hit a scoring fielder’s choice and Harper flied out to the warning track in left center.
Harper was in good spirits Monday afternoon but became visibly frustrated in the last few games. He holds himself to an incredibly high standard and feels personally responsible for the Phillies’ recent skid. He has gone 1-for-20 over his last five games.
Turner has also calmed down after a torrid first three weeks of July, going 1-for-17 since the start of the Cleveland series.
The Phillies are 65-41 after losing 12 of 20.
Aaron Nola carries the ball on Tuesday night alongside Gerrit Cole, who has struggled in four of seven games since making his debut on June 19 after a bout with elbow inflammation.
