Phillies’ bamboo luck seems to be running thin against lowly Marlins
The Phillies have lost seven of their 12 games this season against the Marlins, which would put the Marlins on a 94-win pace if they played the Phillies everyday.
MIAMI — The bamboo plant sat Saturday afternoon in the middle of the visiting clubhouse as the Phillies quietly lamented another loss to the bottom-feeding Marlins.
The Phillies have lost five straight games to the team with the worst-record in the National League and seemed to give away the momentum they brought with them when they boarded a flight Thursday night from Philadelphia carrying a lucky plant and four wins against the Mets.
“I don’t know if we’ve given it right back yet,” Rhys Hoskins said after a 9-6 loss to the Marlins. “This one was tough. Eflin pitched well and cruised through six. I thought we had good at-bats all day. We just couldn’t finish. Frustrating. But I say this time and time again, the beautiful part about this game is we get a chance to salvage a series tomorrow and gain momentum going to Atlanta.”
The Phillies lost seven straight games before Monday afternoon when a bamboo plant and the dysfunctional Mets both happened to arrive at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies swept the four-game series. Maybe it was the lucky plant Brad Miller found in Chinatown. Maybe it was just the Mets.
“I don't think it matters as much who we're playing right now as how we're playing right now,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “We saw through the Mets series that when we play good baseball, we're capable of really big things. When we don't play our best baseball, it doesn't matter who the team on the other side of the field is. We're not going to win. Ultimately this is about tightening our own ship up and not about who is in the opposing dugout.”
The Phillies have lost seven of their 12 games this season against the Marlins, which would put the Marlins on a 94-win pace if they played the Phillies everyday. The rest of baseball has seemed to figure out the Marlins, who are on pace for just 64 wins. But the Phillies have not.
“I don’t know. Yeah, I don’t know,” Hoskins said when asked why the Marlins give the Phillies such trouble. “They’ve pitched well all year. We got some runs early which was nice to see. Their rotation and the bullpen has been nails all year. I’m not really sure.”
Extra bases
Major League Baseball will announce the rosters for the All Star Game on Sunday evening. The Phillies’ most likely recipients seem to be Hector Neris or J.T. Realmuto ... Jake Arrieta will start Sunday’s series finale against Marlins right-hander Trevor Richards.