Phillies fall again | Sports Daily Newsletter

It’s time to admit it. The Phillies are slumping and Kyle Schwarber’s occasional heroics can’t paper over all the cracks of the team’s issues.

When offense is badly needed, it simply has not arrived. It’s not just that star Bryce Harper is injured. Nick Castellanos’ hitting woes have continued. In a situation where the Phillies are slogging away and all help is welcomed, the absence of his hitting aid is notable.

After all, it wasn’t simply that the Phillies lost another game. It’s more that the Phillies were swept in the series by the lowly Cubs.

— Andrea Canales, Inquirer Sports Staff, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.

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As the Eagles open training camp this week, there are bigger question marks than at quarterback where Jalen Hurts heads into his second season as the full-time starter. But the question of how much Hurts was able to fine-tune his game while training in California is still out there, and we’ll start to see some of that as the Eagles practice.

As columnist Marcus Hayes writes, it was a good bet by GM Howie Roseman to stick with Hurts as the starter for this season given the high price the Eagles would have had to pay to acquire and start a more proven quarterback. There are some who believe Hurts can have a breakout season, and some others who aren’t so sure about him.

The Phillies lost three games over the weekend to the Cubs, one of the worst teams in baseball. That’s bad, right? Oh yeah. But David Murphy offers a slightly different view of the situation: If this collapse against the Cubs causes Dave Dombrowski to take a fresh look at his conception of his roster, the Phillies may actually wind up better off swept.

Phillies interim manager Rob Thomson hasn’t messed with the lineup much during his tenure, but on Sunday, he made some changes, namely moving the struggling Nick Castellanos from third to fifth.

Five years after his appearance was canceled by the Phillies, Pete Rose will join his former teammates at Citizens Bank Park for an Aug. 7 celebration of the 1980 World Series team.

Next: The Phillies open a home series against the Braves at 7:05 p.m. Monday (NBCSP). A pair of left-handers will start in the Phillies’ Ranger Suárez (7-5, 4.07) against the Braves’ Max Fried (10-3, 2.64).

While development camp was an opportunity for the Flyers’ rookies to make a good first impression, it also allowed for a checkup on the progress of a few of the team’s returning prospects.

Olivia Reiner asked assistant GM Brent Flahr for his impressions of several of the “veterans” at the team’s recent development camp.

Sure, the Union have a solid defense, but have you met the striker who leads the offense?

Turns out, he’s not a striker at all. Dániel Gazdag has the most goals on the team.

He’s clinical in front of the net and ice cold under pressure on penalty shots, as Orlando found out over the weekend.

The Union lead their conference in Major League Soccer, but they’re not the only Philadelphia soccer team having a moment.

Around the world: South Jersey’s Kyle Hines is one of the all-time best American basketball players in Europe. He never played in the NBA, and he has no regrets.

A swift rebuke: Marcus Hayes weighs in on Charles Barkley’s comments regarding the LIV Golf tour.

This shouldn’t happen - it would be detrimental to an area already struggling with crowds. Can you imagine the masses waiting in Jefferson station or trying to leave in a car via Chinatown or Chestnut street? Also, I am not a fan of the name in general, but if you’re going to name it 76 place, it should be between 6th & 7th streets. —Lindsey Thompson

I think it’s a bad idea for numerous reasons. 1) From what I’ve read the new facility’s capacity is about 3000 seats less than the Wells Fargo center so that disqualifies it for NCAA tourney eligibility and makes it essentially a one trick pony. 2) So what happens to the Wells Fargo, a venue that has just undergone an extensive and expensive renovation, the wrecking ball? What a waste. 3) Parking and congestion in that area will be very problematic. 4) Ticket prices have gone through the roof in the last few years.

A billion $ plus facility, I’m sure, will only escalate prices further and make it that much more difficult for the “average Joe” and his family to afford entry. Let’s continue to make what we have better and repurpose our existing sports facilities. Let’s make it easier, not more difficult and costly, for the fans, who when all is said and done are paying for this, to get there and afford the experience. And finally, for the absurd amount of money players are making ,let’s get our money’s worth. Go Sixers, Go Phila! —Andy M.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Jonathan Tannenwald, Alex Coffey, David Murphy, Marcus Hayes, Olivia Reiner, EJ Smith, Matt Breen, and Matt Mullin.