The Phillies’ second-half slide has now pushed them out of the National League playoff field, and the latest loss to the St. Louis Cardinals only deepened the damage.
Philadelphia entered the break with momentum and had been tracking the Atlanta Braves closely. But since the season resumed, the club has struggled to find that same gear.
The Phillies dropped their first four series after the All-Star break - against the New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees and Miami Marlins - and went 3-9 in that stretch. A brief burst of life followed when they took five of six after losing the opener of a series against the Baltimore Orioles, but that run didn’t hold.
Now the Phillies sit at 64-58, which leaves them a half-game behind the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres for the final NL Wild Card spot after suffering their fifth series loss since the break.
Zack Wheeler needed to steady things with a bullpen already worn down, but the fifth inning turned into the rough patch that changed the game. Four of the five runs he allowed came in that frame, and he was done after five innings and 84 pitches. Brooks Raley worked a scoreless sixth, but the Cardinals widened the gap in the seventh.
Jose Alvarado’s command problems also continued. After getting Jimmy Crooks to ground out, he walked three of the four hitters he faced, issuing free passes to JJ Wetherholt, Ivan Herrera and Jordan Walker.
Before the walk to Walker, he gave up an RBI single to Alec Burleson. That ended his day after his third walk of the inning, and Chase Shugart came in from the bullpen.
Shugart allowed a sacrifice fly to Nathan Church, then watched Masyn Winn foul out to close the frame.
The offense didn’t offer much help. Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner went a combined 0-for-8, and the lineup largely went quiet again.
Bryce Harper kept getting on base, going 1-for-2 and drawing two more walks with Luis Arraez batting behind him. Arraez snapped a hitless streak of 16 at-bats with an RBI double in the top of the fourth, bringing Harper home for Philadelphia’s only run of the afternoon.
The Phillies are dealing with multiple cold stretches at the wrong time, and right now, the results are piling up fast.
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