The Phillies started the season like a team shot out of a confetti cannon—six wins in their first seven games, the bats humming, the vibes immaculate. But since then? Not quite a nosedive, but definitely turbulence. They've dropped five of eight, including a weekend in St. Louis that was less road trip and more disappearing act.
They were shut out twice in three days. On Sunday, they barely made a peep in a 7-0 loss to the Cardinals. Twenty straight Phillies went down to end the game. You’d have thought the final six innings were a replay loop.
“As an offense, we have to be better,” Bryce Harper said, speaking the kind of truth that doesn’t need a stat sheet. “We had some opportunities to hit some pitches over the zone and it just didn’t happen. We've got to be better. We’ll find our way. Our eyeballs have been good lately, but you’ve got to also hit with guys on base and in scoring position.”
Now here come the Giants, rolling into town with all the momentum Philly left behind in Missouri. They’ve won 11 of 15, took two of three from the Yankees over the weekend, and arrive in South Philly after watching Jung Hoo Lee turn Yankee Stadium into his own backyard Wiffle ball park. He went deep twice in Sunday’s 5-4 win and is suddenly looking like the newest name on the “uh-oh” portion of
opposing scouting reports.
So the stage is set: a Phillies team searching for offense, and a Giants team swinging like it found something special. April might still be young, but Monday at Citizens Bank Park feels like a tone-setter.
Pitching Matchups
Monday: RHP Taijuan Walker (1-0, 0.00) vs. RHP Landen Roupp (0-1, 3.60) | 6:45pm
Tuesday: LHP Jesus Luzardo (2-0, 1.50) vs. RHP Justin Verlander (0-0, 6.92) | 6:45pm
Wednesday: RHP Aaron Nola (0-3, 5.51) vs. LHP Robbie Ray (3-0, 2.93) | 6:45pm
Marsh's Offensive Woes
When spring training ended, the Phillies didn’t just pencil Brandon Marsh into the lineup. They wrote his name in Sharpie. Center field. Every day. Against righties. Against lefties. No platoons. No training wheels. For the first time since he arrived at the 2022 trade deadline, the message was clear: Brandon Marsh is the guy. Two weeks later, that marker’s starting to smudge.
Marsh finished Sunday’s game in St. Louis hitting .108. Not a typo. One-oh-eight. His last hit came on March 30 in Washington, back when the cherry blossoms were blooming and the Phillies looked like a team ready to roll. Since then? He’s 0-for-26, with nine strikeouts, five walks, and very little else. It's been two full weeks of empty at-bats, tentative swings, and a lot of batters’ box bewilderment.
What was once a vote of confidence is now looking more like a test of faith. The Phillies said they believed Marsh could handle lefties. Right now, he’s not handling anyone.
It's early, but even that excuse is starting to fade.
