Asked to end the weekend if he felt the scuffling first-place Phillies had done enough leading into Tuesday's trade deadline, Bryce Harper said that "superstars gotta show up" down the stretch.
The superstars showed up on Monday night, they just belonged to the Yankees.
Aaron Judge homered in the first inning off of Zack Wheeler, and after the Phillies pulled to within one run, Juan Soto hit a bases-loaded two-run double to end a lengthy fifth-inning at-bat to keep the Phils at bay.
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The Yankees then obliterated every pitcher the Phillies trotted out, scoring all five times through the lineup in a 14-4 Phillies loss.
Wheeler (10-5, 2.94 ERA) was clearly off in this one. He was taken deep three times in the first two innings by Judge, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Ben Rice. He faced the minimum in the third and fourth before a problematic fifth-inning rally that began with one-out singles by the eight- and nine-hole hitters. Not the recipe you want with Soto and Judge looming in the two- and three-spots. The duo went 5-for-10 with two homers, two doubles, six RBI and four runs scored.
The Phillies ended with backup catcher Garrett Stubbs on the mound for the second time in 11 games. It's the fifth consecutive series opener they've dropped and they're in danger of losing their fifth consecutive series overall if they don't respond Tuesday and Wednesday.
“We’re up pretty good right now,” Wheeler said, “we’ve just got to figure it out and play a little bit better all around. We’re a really good team and you can’t be good every time out. You’re gonna go through these stretches in a season. We don’t like it, fans don’t like it, nobody likes it, but it’s part of the game. It’s a long season and you’re gonna go through these parts. We’ve just got to figure it out.”
Philadelphia Phillies
There was a great chance to change the game in the bottom of the third but a bases-loaded situation yielded only one run. Kyle Schwarber walked to load 'em up with one out, but Trea Turner hit into a run-scoring fielder's choice and Harper flied out to the warning track in left-center.
Harper was in good spirits Monday afternoon but has been visibly frustrated during the last couple of games. He holds himself to an incredibly high standard and feels personally responsible for the Phillies' recent skid. He's 1-for-20 over his last five games.
Turner, too, has cooled off after a torrid first three weeks of July, going 1-for-17 since the beginning of the Cleveland series.
The Phillies are 65-41 after losing 12 of 20.
Aaron Nola takes the ball Tuesday night opposite Gerrit Cole, who has struggled in four of seven starts since debuting on June 19 after a bout of elbow inflammation.