Phillies’ frustration boils over after sweep by Braves drops them to 8-13. ‘At some point, it’s going to change.’

Kyle Schwarber, clubhouse sage and serial postseason participant, has a saying that should be wrapped in a fortune cookie for anyone who plays baseball.

“You can’t chase a result.”

Not in a sport that packs so much failure into every game and so many games into every season. All you can do, Schwarber reminds his Phillies teammates, is put in an honest day’s work and try to get better. And if you do that, the results usually follow.

Yet there was Schwarber, of all people, slamming his helmet Sunday night after Braves right fielder Ronald Acuña Jr. made a running catch to rob a potential game-tying hit and cap a 4-2 loss, the Phillies’ fifth in a row and seventh in nine games on a homestand from hell.

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“Sure, there’s frustration,” Schwarber said later in a pin-drop-quiet clubhouse. “But I think you can only grin at it, too, right? It is what it is. I feel like, on a daily basis, I see the guys in here and the way that they’re working. It’s inevitable. At some point, it’s going to change.”

It almost has to. The Phillies have a projected payroll of $317 million, fifth-highest in baseball. They have All-Stars at the top of the lineup and aces throughout the starting rotation. They’re two-time defending champs in the National League East.

But after getting swept at home by the Braves in a three-game series for the first time since 2016, they are 8-13, tied for their worst 21-game start since 2000. The 2015 and 2002 Phillies also started 8-13. It isn’t good company to keep. Those teams finished 63-99 and 80-81, respectively.

Oh, but it gets worse. The Phillies have the worst run differential in baseball (minus-38). They’ve lost four of five series at home after dropping only three home series all of last season. In the last nine game, all at home, they were outscored 56-33 by the Diamondbacks, Cubs, and Braves.

Want to get away?

The Phillies sure did. So, after rookie starter Andrew Painter let a 2-0 lead slip away, after the offense went silent again following Schwarber’s first-inning two-run homer, after 36,806 rain-soaked paying customers showered them with boos, the Phillies piled onto a Delta charter (Southwest, with its “Wanna Get Away” slogan, would’ve been apropos) to Chicago.

“We’re disappointed, we’re frustrated,” manager Rob Thomson said. “I know they’re trying hard, sometimes trying too hard. I think guys are upset. We’re off to a slow start here, but it’s going to get better.”

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Sure, but how much better?

The Phillies expect to get Zack Wheeler back as soon as Friday in Atlanta, though his diminished fastball in five minor-league starts casts doubt on his effectiveness after thoracic outlet syndrome. And besides, he can’t help a lineup that lacks punch and depth.

Some of the ugly numbers:

When Schwarber and Bryce Harper don’t drive in runs, the Phillies don’t often score. Banged-up catcher J.T. Realmuto added a sore lower back to his list of bruises and didn’t play in the finale against the Braves. He probably won’t start Monday night, Thomson said.

The Phillies are so desperate for right-handed power that they called up 25-year-old Felix Reyes over the weekend. Reyes was off to a good start at triple A and homered in his first major-league at-bat Saturday night, but doesn’t appear on most prospect lists or project as a difference-maker.

Harper went 11-for-32 with two homers and several warning-track drives on the homestand. He reached base in his first two plate appearances Sunday night before hitting a smash to third base in the fifth. But Austin Riley made a backhand play to snuff out a two-on, two-out rally.

The Phillies did almost nothing until the ninth inning. Stott stroked a leadoff double against Braves closer Raisel Iglesias before Justin Crawford worked a one-out walk.

But Trea Turner struck out on a belt-high fastball before Acuña’s game-ending play and Schwarber’s helmet spike.

» READ MORE: Taking stock of the Phillies’ start: What’s worth worrying about (and not), Zack Wheeler’s return, and more

“We always talk about the sense of urgency. The sense of urgency is there,” Schwarber said. “The want’s there. The desire’s there. The will. And we all believe in ourselves. There’s no doubt in that. Just take it on the chin and keep moving forward.

“It’s a glaring moment just because it’s the start of the year, and no one wants to be in this position to start the year off. But we’ve been in these spots before. This team knows how to fight its away out of holes.”

But the hole keeps getting deeper, and the pressure on a team that is already carrying the burden of back-to-back-to-back October disappointments is only growing.

It’s a test for Thomson to keep the ship from sinking.

“That’s my job,” he said. “Yeah, there are times when you have to straighten some people out. In a way, we’ve done that. But for the most part you’ve got to stay positive and you’ve got to believe in the club. Because there’s talent here. It’s not that we don’t have talent. We’ve got talent.

“It just hasn’t happened yet, but it’s going to happen.”

Maybe it’ll help them to get away. It’s never easy in Chicago or Atlanta. But maybe they can circle the wagons away from the boos.

“Yeah, I don’t know,” Thomson said. “I’ll let you know after the road trip.”

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Gage Wood might have pitched the best game in college baseball history 10 months ago. Now, with Andrew Painter in the majors, Wood is the Phillies’ top pitching prospect. The 22-year-old righty joins Phillies Extra, The Inquirer’s baseball podcast, to discuss his strong start to the season. Watch here.

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Previous episodes: Scott Boras | Brian Barber | Aaron Nola | Justin Crawford | Garrett Stubbs | Kyle Schwarber | Brad Keller | J.T.Realmuto | Orion Kerkering | Whit Merrifield