The Phillies were 10 games over .500 as of Tuesday morning, but before Monday night's badly needed extra-innings win over the Cubs (and even after), you were going to be hard pressed to find anyone feeling good about it.
They got swept by the Brewers and Pirates, only salvaging a single win in a series loss to the Blue Jays in between before Monday night halted the bleeding on what was a 1-8 stretch. And it was a really bad stretch, not just for what, but how.
Bryce Harper is hurt, no one was hitting, the bullpen is (still) bad, Jesús Luzardo suddenly got shelled to a historic degree…yeah, it was rough.
Monday night's win at Citizens Bank Park was a step to getting back on track, but only a step after a baffling tumble down.
Here's how it reflected in the latest wave of MLB power rankings…
MLB.com: 6th
The dip was coming, wrote Will Leitch. Most just couldn't see it – or didn't want to. Also, Harper being hurt is not good:
Many advanced stats folks — and those who look at Clay Davenport’s third-order standings, who actually have the Phillies below the Braves still — tried to warn Phillies fans that a dip may be coming, despite their run to first place. That dip happened this week, with the Phillies losing nine of 10 and putting Bryce Harper on the injured list. The Harper business is particularly worrisome considering it’s the same wrist injury he had last year. But the Phillies are remaining optimistic: "I would think that it's going to take less time since he's here and can get treatment," manager Rob Thomson said. "So I'm hoping that it's real quick." [MLB.com]
The Athletic: 7th
The Phillies are in bad need of a bullpen fix, but can they really do that at this point?
The undercurrent of Philadelphia’s bullpen struggles — and what helped cause them — boiled over in a simple part of Wednesday’s box score. Win: Jeff Hoffman. Loss: Jordan Romano. What broke down into an offseason “trade” of Hoffman for Romano hasn’t worked especially well for either side. But the Phillies have been left to lament a key strength of 2024 in their bullpen returning to a justifiably maligned weakness in 2025. Romano has not been a sufficient substitute for what Hoffman provided. A less straightforward exchange of Carlos Estévez for Carlos Hernández has also not been fruitful for Philadelphia. All this has been exacerbated by the suspension of José Alvarado. Bullpens can be the easiest element of a team to fix in-season; there are dozens of relievers available come July. But the unpredictability of their performance — see: the 2025 NLDS — makes that task unpleasant anyway. [The Athletic]
MORE: Otto Kemp helps Phils snap losing streak in first trip to CBP
Bleacher Report: 13th
If they're going to, it probably can't wait until the trade deadline at this rate.
The Phillies went 11-1 during a stretch at the end of May, but they have gone just 1-9 since, with a three-game sweep by the Pirates marking a low point in their season. With 12 blown saves in 32 chances and a bullpen that ranks 25th in the majors with a 4.54 ERA, they might not be able to wait until the trade deadline to pull the trigger on trading for some late-inning help. [B/R]
CBS Sports: 8th
No, for real, it was bad.
If you thought last week was bad, how does getting swept in Pittsburgh sound? The Phillies are in a bad way right now. [CBS Sports]
You could argue they get a pass on the Paul Skenes start because he's just that good, but then again, they really didn't give him anything to sweat over, which did no favors for Cristopher Sánchez as the other guy on the mound, and who gave the Phils a great outing himself.
Hey, they salvaged Zack Wheeler's start Monday night, though, as much as they had to battle through it.
MORE: 5 ways the Phils can shake things up right now
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