After being handed a three-game sweep by their in-state-rival Pittsburgh Pirates, the Philadelphia Phillies have fallen into a difficult situation in the National League standings.
Over the last two weeks, the Phillies have a 3-9 record and have been swept twice by NL Central teams in the Brewers and Pirates. Their only wins over that time came twice against the Braves in a series win and in the series opener against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Philadelphia has been outscored 37-64 in these games with bottom-of-the-league offensive and pitching statistics. In the last 15 days, here is where the Phillies rank on both sides of the ball:
ERA: 5.26 (28th)
Earned Runs: 61 (T-26th)
WHIP: 1.54 (29th)
Opp. AVG: .281 (28th)
AVG: .199 (30th)
OPS: .595 (29th)
Runs: 37 (28th)
RBI: 35 (28th)
Bryce Harper’s recent wrist injury has left the top half of the Phillies’ lineup quite thin and only Nick Castellanos has kept the bats afloat, being the only hitter on the team with a batting average above .300 over the past two weeks. Lineup regulars Brandon Marsh, J.T. Realmuto, Bryson Stott, Max Kepler and Johan Rojas all have a batting average below .200 in that same span.
On the mound, Cristopher Sánchez (2.41 ERA) and Ranger Suárez (1.42 ERA) have put together strong starts in their six combined outings, but the rotation members who have performed the best this season, Jesús Luzardo and Zack Wheeler, have underwhelmed in their appearances over the past two weeks. Luzardo had a 2.15 ERA before his last two starts where he has given up 20 earned runs over 5.2 innings while Wheeler gave up a season-high six runs in his last start of May before heading to the paternity list.
Philadelphia will start a three-game series against the one of the National League’s best squads in the Chicago Cubs before hosting the Blue Jays. Wheeler will return to the mound to make his first start of the month and take on Matthew Boyd (5-3, 3.01 ERA). Rookie starter Mick Abel and Luzardo are projected to make starts to finish out the series on Tuesday and Wednesday.