The boos could be heard loud and clear from the sellout crowd of 43,048 at Citizens Bank Park on Friday night as the Phillies opened a weekend series against the division rival Atlanta Braves and were shut out, 9-0. There was plenty of frustration to go around given the team’s recent stretch of uninspiring play, but it was Taijuan Walker who heard the worst of it.
From the very first inning, it looked like it was going to be a long night for Walker. He loaded the bases with no outs and allowed two runs in the opening frame, setting the tone for another difficult outing. His final line told the story: four innings, seven hits, seven earned runs, and three walks. Walker just can’t seem to get anything going this season, and many fans are beginning to wonder how much longer he will remain in the rotation.
Walker now owns a 9.16 ERA through four starts, the highest by a Phillies starter to begin a season in the rotation since 2000. In the final year of his four-year, $72 million contract, Walker is 24-24 with a 5.16 ERA during his time in Philadelphia. He has been particularly vulnerable early in games, with 11 of the runs he has allowed this season coming in the first inning.
While Walker was the main recipient of the boos Friday night, the case could be made that the offense was just as deserving, managing only six hits on the night, going 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position, and leaving 11 men stranded.
The Phillies have now been shut out three times in nine games and are hitting an abysmal .179 with a .555 OPS against left-handers.
Walker is still scheduled to make his next start in the middle of next week, with Zack Wheeler not expected to return until next weekend.
The Phillies had little to celebrate on Saturday as well, dropping their second straight to Atlanta, this one by a score of 3-1. It was a pitcher’s duel between Braves veteran left-hander Chris Sale and Phillies standout Cristopher Sánchez. Although Sale walked away with the win, Sánchez pitched well, allowing eight hits, three unearned runs, and one walk while striking out eight over six innings.
The three unearned runs came in the third inning, which proved to be the difference in the game. Sánchez struck out the first two hitters of the inning, but things unraveled quickly from there. Drake Baldwin lined a single, and Ozzie Albies reached on a fielder’s choice that was prolonged by an error from second baseman Edmundo Sosa. A walk followed, then a bloop infield single and another hit, and suddenly the Braves led 3-1 and that was all that they would need.
Despite the loss, Sánchez pitched well, and manager Rob Thomson agreed. “He was great. Fastball command was great. The changeup was swing-and-miss.” Clean defense behind him, and it might have been a different outcome.
The only bright spot for the Phillies, who managed just five hits on the night, was the debut of Felix Reyes. Reyes, who had been on a tear in Triple-A, hitting .333/.345/.654 with eight doubles, six home runs, and 15 RBIs across 18 games this season, made his Major League debut Saturday night and delivered in memorable fashion. He crushed the third pitch of his first major league at-bat, a four-seam fastball, over the right-field wall for his first career hit and first career home run. In doing so, he became the seventh player in Phillies franchise history to homer in his first at-bat.
Sunday night put the Phillies on national television for the late game, a 7:20 p.m. start, with rookie phenom Andrew Painter on the mound.
Things looked promising early, as Kyle Schwarber launched a two-run home run in the first inning to give the Phillies a quick 2-0 lead, but the momentum didn’t last and the bats went quiet from there.
Painter gave up a home run to Michael Harris II in the third to cut the lead to 2-1, but the game slipped away in the fifth. After allowing two singles to start the inning, Painter was lifted, and left-hander Tim Mayza entered. A bases-loaded walk and a groundout by Matt Olson tied the game, and an infield single followed by a double from Ozzie Albies gave Atlanta a 4-2 lead they would not relinquish.
It was a sweep by Atlanta at Citizens Bank Park.
During this recent nine-game homestand, the Phillies went 2-7, their worst nine-game stretch at home since 2009.
They now sit at 8-13 on the year, their worst start through 21 games since 2015.
Philadelphia will open a four-game series against the Cubs at Wrigley Field on Monday before heading to Atlanta for a three-game rematch against the Braves. They will return to Citizens Bank Park on Tuesday, April 28.
Aaron Nola (1-4, 4.03 ERA) will get the start Monday.
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