Phillies are ‘struggling to find our stride’ after dropping seventh straight
Phillies pitchers issued 10 walks and starter Jesús Luzardo didn’t make it out of the fifth inning in a 7-4 loss to the Cubs.
CHICAGO — For the past two seasons that the Phillies have ruled the National League East, their starting rotation has been king.
The Phillies led the NL in quality starts — at least six innings pitched with three or fewer runs allowed — in 2024 and 2025. Their starters’ ERA was No. 1 last season (3.53) and No. 3 the year before (3.81).
Following a 7-4 loss to the Cubs on Tuesday night, their seventh straight, the Phillies’ list of concerns is long. But near the top is their inability to lean on what has typically been their greatest strength. No Phillies pitcher has gone deeper than 6⅔ innings this season — not even the ace of the staff, Cristopher Sánchez, who has a 1.59 ERA — which, in turn, taxes the bullpen.
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“We got to get our starters back to some length, just to give the bullpen a little bit of rest,” said manager Rob Thomson. “We haven’t done that, which is kind of our calling card.”
On Tuesday, Jesús Luzardo needed 100 pitches for 4⅔ innings. He was only charged with one earned run, but the Cubs ran up the score on the relievers.
Shota Imanaga also allowed only one earned run, off a solo homer from Kyle Schwarber in the sixth. But the difference was he only needed 87 pitches to complete seven innings.
“In the recent years, the Phillies have done a good job of getting in and out of at-bats really well,” Luzardo said. “And I think that this year, maybe we haven’t done it as much, especially me. So speaking on myself, I think that that’s something that I could do better.”
The Phillies made some strong defensive plays early to help him out, as Luzardo pitched with a lot of traffic on the bases after allowing five hits and four walks. Bryce Harper made a sliding grab on a pop up over his head in a crucial moment with the bases loaded in the third. Brandon Marsh also caught a ball while crashing into the center field wall, while Alec Bohm made several athletic grabs at third base.
“I didn’t have my best stuff. Kind of a battle for the majority of the outing, finding the zone, making pitches when I needed to,” Luzardo said. “But definitely a step in the right direction with guys on base, getting out of jams. Defense did an incredible job behind me.”
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Defense can’t overcome walks, though, and Phillies pitchers issued 10. In addition to Luzardo’s four, Orion Kerkering and Tanner Banks walked two apiece, and Tim Mayza and José Alvarado had one each. The Cubs’ first run of the game came in the fifth on a bases-loaded walk from Kerkering that scored an inherited runner.
Kerkering took over for Luzardo in the fifth inning with two runners on, and walked Dansby Swanson on five pitches to load the bases. Pinch-hitter Moisés Ballesteros fell behind in the count, 0-2, but battled back to even it up. The payoff pitch was close, but called a ball.
Neither Kerkering nor catcher J.T. Realmuto initiated an automated ball-strike challenge, forcing in a run. Thomson said that considering the situation, it would have been a good opportunity to challenge, and pitching coach Caleb Cotham talked to Realmuto about it afterward.
Harper followed up Schwarber’s sixth-inning homer with a two-run shot in the eighth off Cubs reliever Riley Martin. But Chicago continued to add to its lead against the Phillies’ bullpen. The Cubs hit two homers off Mayza in the seventh inning, and tacked on another run in the eighth on a wild pitch from Alvarado.
Alvarado was removed from the game with a midback spasm, and Brad Keller entered and retired the next two batters to escape the jam.
The Phillies offense showed a little bit of life in the ninth, but it wasn’t enough. Bohm finished 0-for-3 but hit a sacrifice fly deep to center field that scored Adolis García from third base. A single from Marsh brought the tying run to the plate, but Edmundo Sosa and Trea Turner flew out and popped out, respectively, to end it.
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“I feel like on both sides of the ball, we’re just kind of really struggling to find our stride,” Schwarber said. “You go to the last inning for us, we get a break. We get a couple hits there, and we’re in striking distance. It’s our job that we go out there and we keep working, and keep battling, and keep going to figure out what we have to do.”
The Phillies rotation will get a reinforcement on Saturday, when Zack Wheeler is activated from the injured list to make his season debut. But it’s fair to wonder what version of Wheeler will be on the mound in Atlanta in his first major league start after thoracic outlet decompression surgery. In the meantime, the Phillies need their strength to be their strength again.
“There’s been times that a lot of us think that we can pick up the slack, and me included,” Luzardo said. “I think that we’re getting there. We’re taking a step in the right direction. Obviously, it needs to happen sooner rather than later.”
With 60 years in professional baseball — 41 of them with the Phillies — Larry Bowa is back at spring training. The 1980 World Series shortstop, former coach, and manager joins The Inquirer’s Scott Lauber to talk about top prospect Aidan Miller, Trea Turner’s future at shortstop, the Phillies’ title hopes, and more. Watch here.
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