Not the best of weekends, or even weeks for that matter, for the struggling Philadelphia Phillies. The Phillies road a four-game losing streak into the Boston Red Sox series. They drop the final game of the Astros series and get swept out in Los Angeles against the Dodgers. The Boston Red Sox series took two games to find a well-needed victory finally. It was the first six-game losing streak for the Phillies in four years. The Phillies finally break a six game losing streak.
A Friday to Forget
The Phils ace Zack Wheeler had an opportunity to stop the club’s losing streak at four-game son Friday in the series opener. The right-hander has stopped plenty of losing streaks over his previous three-plus seasons in Philadelphia. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Wheeler allowed five runs (four earned) in 5 1/3 innings as the Phillies lost their fifth straight game to fall to 15-18.
Boston scored an unearned run in the first inning to take a 1-0 lead. Raimel Tapia hit a fly ball to left-center field to start the game. Schwarber and center fielder Dalton Guthrie converged. Schwarber said he called it first, but he dropped the ball. Tapia scored on a two-out single from Rafael Devers. Wheeler allowed four earned runs the rest of the way. The Phillies tied the game in the fourth when they scored three runs. Bryce Harper, who played in his first home game since Game 5 of the 2022 World Series, got things started with an infield single. The Phils had runners on first and second with one out in the ninth, but Schwarber and Trea Turner each struck out swinging to end the game. The boobirds started to fly.
Fan Falls Into Bullpen
A fan fell into the visitors’ bullpen at Citizens Bank Park and sustained injuries in the top of the first inning Friday night. He was transported to Thomas Jefferson Hospital for treatment. He was conscious and responsive as he left the ballpark. NBC Sports Philadelphia said on its broadcast that a member of the Red Sox tossed a ball to a fan, but the ball landed in the flower bed below the railing. The fan tried to reach over the railing to try to retrieve the ball but then tumbled into the bullpen below.
Saturday Brings Sixth Loss In a Row
Philadelphia has lost six consecutive games following Saturday night’s 7-4 loss to the Red Sox. Fans headed to Citizens Bank Park hoping for a turn in fortune. Phillies starters have accumulated a bloated 9.91 ERA (29 earned runs in 26 2/3 innings) in those losses and a 5.03 ERA this season, including the five runs left-hander Bailey Falter allowed in 3 2/3 innings on Saturday. Falter (0-6, 5.75 ERA) retired the first nine batters he faced through three innings, then faced nine batters in the fourth inning as the Red Sox scored five runs to take a 5-1 lead.
Alec Bohm got the scoring started in the home half of the second inning. After J.T. Realmuto flew out to the warning track — narrowly missing a two-run home run — Bohm drove Bryson Stott in with an RBI single. In the home half of the fourth inning, the Phillies would get one run back when Edmundo Sosa flared a broken-bat single into right field on the 11th pitch of his at-bat against Corey Kluber, scoring Bohm. But the Phillies missed a chance for a big inning, with Kyle Schwarber flying out just shy of the warning track to end the inning, stranding Sosa and Brandon Marsh. In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Phillies inched closer as Bryce Harper hit a Kluber pitch 396 feet for his first home run of the season.
In what was already his 16th appearance of the 2023 season, Connor Brogdon allowed two runs to cross the plate in the top of the sixth inning on a two-run double into the left-field corner. Trea Turner would homer in the bottom of the seventh, but that wasn’t enough for the Phillies to overcome the pitching woes.
Phillies Break a Six Game Losing Streak
The Phillies and the Sixers finally got a victory this weekend. Some changes were made and seemed to work, at least this day. Kyle Schwarber homered after being dropped from leadoff to fifth in the batting order (Finally). The Philadelphia Phillies stopped a six-game losing streak with a 6-1 victory over the Red Sox on Sunday that ended Boston’s eight-game winning streak. Taijuan Walker (3-2) rebounded from two consecutive rocky outings, allowing one run and three hits in six innings with six strikeouts and no walks.
J.T. Realmuto singled twice and drove in two runs. The Phightins win for the first time since Bryce Harper’s return to the lineup Tuesday. Harper, playing in his fifth game after Tommy John surgery on his right elbow, continues to stun fans. Bryce is batting .368 (7 for 19) with one RBI after going 1 for 3 with a single, walk, and two runs in Sunday’s affair. Schwarber, who was in a 1-for-30 slump. Stott, in a 1-for-14 slide coming in, singled, leading off the fourth. Trea Turner singled, and Harper walked. Nick Castellanos hit a go-ahead grounder, and Schwarber laced an RBI single to right. Schwarber (8) hit a two-run shot into the second deck in right field for a 4-1 lead in the sixth.
Phillies break a six game losing streak. Can the changes made in the lineup be what the doctor ordered?
Help On the Way?
Phillies left-hander Ranger Suárez could provide a lift to the rotation next weekend in Colorado. He will make a rehab start on Sunday with Triple-A Lehigh Valley. If he is healthy, he will rejoin the team in Denver.
Al is one of the two co-creators of Edge of Philly Sports. Al started radio and podcasting in 2012 and covering sports in 2015. A lifelong Philly sports fan since watching the Eagles, Phillies, Sixers, and Flyers with his grandfathers at age 7. Al always looks at the other side of the hot topics and gives his different outlook on those topics. Web and Graphic Design.
