Phillies off to another slow start, lose series to the Reds: ‘We’re a better offensive club than we’re showing’

If you thought Citizens Bank Park would freeze over before the Phillies tripped out of the blocks to begin another season, well, consider how things unfolded Wednesday.

First came the rain delay — 3 hours and 55 minutes, according to the official record, but longer if you account for a three-hour pushback in the original start time (1:05 p.m.) due to the forecast. But the Phillies and Reds were hell-bent on maintaining their days off Thursday, so they waited. And waited.

And when Zack Wheeler, wearing short sleeves, uncorked the first pitch at 8 p.m., it was 48 degrees with a 23-mph wind speed, the worst combination of those two factors for a game in Philadelphia in 17 years (since a 46-degree, 25-mph wind night on April 17, 2007).

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Only the Phillies were colder.

Reds starter Frankie Montas and three relievers held the Phillies to five hits — one for extra bases, none with runners in scoring position — in a 4-1 loss that dropped them to 2-4 on a season-opening home stand.

Avert your eyes, unless you care to see what another slow start looks like.

“It is what it is,” said Wheeler, who did his part, allowing three runs (one earned) and striking out 10 batters in six innings. “There’s nothing we can do about it now. Just have to play a little more consistent and we’ll be right where we want to be.”

The Phillies were outscored 25-12 in the first three games against the powerhouse Braves and 14-13 by the upstart Reds. They batted .223 (44-for-197) in the six games and struck out 54 times. They played from behind a lot.

Trea Turner went 5-for-23, Nick Castellanos 3-for-20 with seven strikeouts. Even with his three-homer game Tuesday night, Bryce Harper is 4-for-19. Johan Rojas beat out a tapper to third base in the third inning for his first hit of the season. He’s 1-for-15.

“We’re a better offensive club than we’re showing — and it’ll come,” said manager Rob Thomson. “I have all the confidence in the world.”

The Phillies started 1-5 last year and 3-3 in 2022, so they’ve been here before. But those records spiraled to 25-32 and 21-29 at their respective low points.

How do they avoid a three-peat?

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The schedule should help. The next 16 games are against the Nationals, Cardinals, Pirates, Rockies, and White Sox. The Pirates are off to a 5-1 start, but none of those clubs made the playoffs last year. Depending upon how you feel about the Cardinals, none is expected to get there this season, either.

“I think there’s a lot of positive things to take away from the home stand, but at the end of the day, we wanted to finish better than 2-4,” Kyle Schwarber said after blasting a leadoff homer in the sixth inning to account for the Phillies’ scoring. “We’ve got a good challenge ahead here on the road.”

The Phillies had their chance to come back in the sixth inning. Trailing 3-1, they loaded the bases on J.T. Realmuto’s single and back-to-back two-out walks against Montas.

Thomson stuck with lefty-hitting Brandon Marsh, even as the Reds called on lefty reliever Justin Wilson. Marsh took a strike, laid off a high fastball, then skied a foul pop to third baseman Jeimer Candelario for the rally-ending out.

Wheeler missed the strike zone badly with his first three pitches of the game — “Felt like I’d never thrown a baseball before,” he said, oozing self-deprecation — but regrouped quickly. He mostly avoided damage by striking out 10 batters.

An error by second baseman Bryson Stott led to two unearned runs in the third inning. The Reds added a run in the sixth on back-to-back two-out doubles by Jake Fraley and Elly De La Cruz.

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For a second consecutive start, Wheeler trusted his new splitter. He threw it 12 times and got four swings-and-misses.

Looking for silver linings? Wheeler’s continued excellence is a big one.

But as the Phillies head to Washington to open a series Friday night, the offense is still looking to heat up.

Even in the cold.