Phillies Game Story

Mick Abel left the ball up in the zone in his four innings and the Cubs’ dynamic offense pounded the Phillies’ scuffling bullpen in an 8-4 loss.

The Phillies are going to need to figure out ways to generate offense without their best hitter and the early returns have been ugly. They were shut down again Sunday and swept in Pittsburgh.

It was a quiet MLB debut but Otto Kemp has a golden opportunity to supply a jolt to a stagnant Phillies offense in need of one.

They haven’t hit much lately, they haven’t had Bryce Harper much lately, they’re experiencing perhaps Kyle Schwarber’s first cold spell of the season and the Phillies have lost seven of eight.

Jesus Luzardo seriously struggled again Thursday in the Phillies’ 9-1 series finale loss to the Blue Jays.

The Phillies lost by walk-off Wednesday in Toronto but it was another impressive, walk-free outing from Mick Abel, who will be sticking around a little while.

Bryce Harper’s first inning back in the Phillies’ lineup in a week was their most explosive inning in a week, a six-run outburst that enabled them to cruise to an 8-3 victory in Toronto.

Jesus Luzardo’s 12th start as a Phillie wasn’t just his first dud, it was the worst outing of his career, a 17-7 loss to the Brewers that had Rhys Hoskins’ fingerprints all over it.

Zack Wheeler’s May magic didn’t last through his final start of the month.

The Phillies got right back to winning ways Tuesday night.

The Phillies were five outs away from a 7-0 road trip before a blown save by Matt Strahm, who lamented his own harmful walk and heaped praise upon a maturing Jesus Luzardo.

They were without their top two relievers and received a short start from Cristopher Sanchez but the Phillies made huge plays in the 9th, 10th and 11th innings at the plate, in the field and on the bases to extend their winning streak to nine games.

Before even throwing a pitch Friday night, Zack Wheeler didn’t feel right but adjusted in another scoreless start. “The mound was terrible. … It was like cement right in front of the rubber.”

More great starting pitching, a game-saving catch by Johan Rojas and just enough from the bullpen helped the Phillies to an eighth straight win.

Ranger Suarez kept the Rockies off the board in a third straight excellent start and the Phillies won their seventh in a row with a chance to widen their NL East lead even more this weekend.

Trea Turner and Bryce Harper spearheaded another huge night of offense for the Phillies, who have taken advantage of the lowly Rockies in all phases and won six in a row.

The Phillies knew they were getting a talented lefty in Jesus Luzardo but he’s exceeded all expectations through 10 starts. “His demeanor, it matches the flow of our team,” Bryce Harper said after another win.

They didn’t explode until the final three innings Monday but the Phillies took no time on Tuesday night, jumping out to an immediate advantage and leading wire-to-wire in a 7-1 win over the Rockies.

Safe to say Kyle Schwarber knew he got this one. The 300th home run of his career traveled 466 feet. “They asked me would 12-year-old Kyle think he’d hit 300 homers, I’d say probably not.”

The Phillies scored eight runs in the final three innings at Coors Field to come back on the Rockies and leapfrog the Mets into first place in the NL East.