After beginning the season as well as they could with star pitcher Cristopher Sánchez going six shutout innings with 10 strikeouts in a. 5-3 win, the Philadelphia Phillies faltered in the next two games of their series against the Texas Rangers.
Both the starting pitching and the bats struggled as the Phillies dug themselves into early holes before showing signs of life.
Now, the Phillies will look to rebound against their NL East divisional opponent, the Washington Nationals.
Settling In
The beginning of the season can be a mirage for some teams. How they start doesn’t always indicate how they will finish, but for a team whose bats have gone cold in their last few postseason appearances, the anxiousness of a slow start is growing in Phillies fans. That anxiousness also appears to be bleeding over into the lineup as well.
Cole Weintraub of NBC Sports Philadelphia wrote in his March 29 article about Phillies manager Rob Thomson and his belief that the Phillies batters haven’t settled into the season yet.
“We got to get something going earlier in the game,” Thomson said. “I think everybody in the lineup is trying to get off to a good start, maybe a little bit anxious, and they’ll settle in.”
Phillies shortstop Trea Turner believes that the early-season struggles aren’t much to worry about right now.
“Spring doesn’t really matter one way or the other,” he said. “You get your work, you get ready, if you get out healthy, I think that’s most important… When you get five at-bats every day, you get [into] a rhythm.”
While Turner doesn’t believe there is reason to panic at the moment, the Phillies still want to get out of the gate with more urgency.
Starting Hot
The biggest difference between the Phillies’ first game of the series and their next two against the Rangers was that in game one, Kyle Schwarber got the scoring started early with a two-run home run, whereas in the following two games, the Phillies couldn’t get going early.
Corey Seidman of Sports Illustrated, in his March 29 article, wrote about the frigid Phillies offense in their two losses.
“The Phils were 0-for-17 with seven strikeouts and a walk (J.T. Realmuto) in their first trip through the batting order in the last two losses. By the time they had a baserunner or any meaningful offensive threat brewing Sunday, they trailed by six runs,” Seidman wrote.
Seidman further illustrated how congested the Phillies’ offense has been at the start of games.
“The Phillies made 14 outs before their first hit on Saturday and 15 outs before their first hit on Sunday, which was a dribbler down the third-base line by Justin Crawford to open the sixth,” Seidman said.
Phillies general manager Dave Dombrowski didn’t inspire much confidence when he decided to bring back most of the Phillies’ core on offense, which has underperformed in the past, and the first three games of the season aren’t changing minds. However, it is only the end of March, so how this season unfolds remains to be seen.
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