The Philadelphia Phillies are suddenly in deep trouble.
A couple of weeks ago, it seemed like everything was clicking for the Philadelphia Phillies. The bats had woken up, the starting rotation had rounded into form and the bullpen had become more than respectable.
But now, things are completely unraveling.
The Phillies dropped the first matchup of a two-game set against the Washington Nationals on Tuesday night, falling 6-3. It marked their eighth loss in 12 games, and the circumstances surrounding this one were particularly spooky.
Before the contest, Jesus Luzardo was placed on the 15-day injured list due to shoulder inflammation. It was initially just called shoulder stiffness last week, but things took a turn for the worse Tuesday, and now, Luzardo's playoff status is in question.
Then, Philadelphia watched as staff ace Cristopher Sanchez struggled again, allowing five earned runs on eight hits over 6.1 innings of work.
While reliever Jonathan Bowlan was the one who allowed the three-run home run to Daylen Lile in the seventh inning, resulting in Sanchez being tagged for two more earned runs (he left the game with three), Sanchez still put two runners on base prior, and he also surrendered a homer earlier in the contest.
Sanchez has permitted 14 earned runs across 18.1 innings of work in September, giving up 23 hits in the process. He owns a 1.53 WHIP on the month, and that number has now increased to 1.22 on the season as a whole.
Luzardo has actually been the Phillies' best pitcher for quite a while, and now, the team might not even have him for the postseason. And is Philadelphia supposed to trust Sanchez at this juncture?
And once again, the Phillies' offense was mostly anemic, managing just five hits versus the Nationals. That was in spite of Jackson Kent and his 6.40 ERA starting the contest. Washington's bullpen also allowed just one hit to Philadelphia's offense, which was a wasted two-out double by Luis Arraez in the eighth inning.
Suddenly, the walls are caving in on the Phillies, who appeared to have all the magic in the world during their scintillating stretch during the second half of August.
Philadelphia has a chance to lock down a playoff spot against poor opponents on its slate this week. First, it's the Nats. The New York Mets are then on tap for a four-game series afterward. And already, the Phils have dropped the first match.
Throw the Luzardo news on top of that, and things aren't exactly looking bright in the City of Brotherly Love right now.
There is still time for the Phillies to right the ship, but they need to start. Now.
