On Monday night, they cheered the Phillies' first division title since 2011.
On Tuesday night, they cheered Rob Thomson's walk to the mound to remove Taijuan Walker.
It's hard to believe that it can keep getting worse for Walker, but it has. He allowed three inherited runs, three runs of his own and seven baserunners in 1⅔ innings of relief against the Cubs. His ERA rose yet again to 7.10 in the Phillies' 10-4 loss.
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This was the Phillies' "hangover" game but they still have a lot to play for. Their Magic Number over the Brewers to secure a first-round bye remains 2.
Removed from the rotation for poor performance for the second time this season after his last start Thursday in New York, Walker entered in the second inning Tuesday. Left-hander Tanner Banks started the game as an opener and faced eight batters before Thomson went to Walker with the bases loaded, one out and the Phillies up a run.
He was one pitch away from escaping the jam but that pitch never came. Walker walked in a run, walked in another run, was bailed out by second baseman Edmundo Sosa on a scorcher up the middle, allowed a two-run single then another RBI single before ending the inning with a flyout and trudging back to the dugout to boos.
This was his first time entering in the middle of an inning.
Philadelphia Phillies
“We got behind early. It’s that fifth spot in our rotation,” Thomson said.
“It’s kinda putting him in a tough spot. He’s never done it. But we’ve got to find out. I told him before the game it could be a dirty inning and he was fine with it. He got ahead, just right now he can’t put people away.”
Walker stranded a one-out double in the third but was pulled two batters into the fourth after Ian Happ walked and Dansby Swanson doubled. Kolby Allard retired three in a row to save Walker's line from looking even worse but gave up four of his own in the sixth.
Mercifully, it was the final time in 2024 the Phillies will have to use a fifth starter. Cristopher Sanchez will start Wednesday's series finale against the Cubs and the Phils have Ranger Suarez, Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola lined up for the weekend in D.C.
It is unlikely Wheeler or Nola pitches deeper than five innings unless a top-2 seed is still on the line. The bye is a priority but health and rest trumps home-field advantage over chasing the Dodgers, Thomson said Monday. The Phillies are 93-65 and the Dodgers are 93-64, with the Phils possessing the tiebreaker.
Walker was hoping to carve out a spot on the postseason roster as a long reliever but it's unlikely after his last two outings. Others in play for that spot are Allard, Max Lazar and Spencer Turnbull, who threw two innings for Triple A Lehigh Valley on Sunday. With the minor-league season over, Turnbull is next scheduled for 2-3 innings in a simulated game Friday in Clearwater.
Walker is owed $36 million after this season but is unlikely to be in the Phillies' future plans. They could theoretically hope for an offseason of improvement and bring him to spring training in 2025 to compete for the No. 5 spot, but little about his performance, stuff, velocity, movement or command has indicated he can be a viable major-league starter moving forward.
The Phillies struck first Tuesday on Bryce Harper's 30th home run of the year, a solo shot to center. It was the fifth time he's reached 30 bombs and third as a Phillie. Clubhouse celebration chief Garrett Stubbs brought home a second run with a two-out bunt single in the second inning, leaping over pitcher Justin Steele and touching the first-base bag with his hand to elude the tag. That was all until Kyle Schwarber hit a two-run shot in the eighth to reach 38 HR and 102 RBI.
Left fielder Austin Hays returned after missing just over three weeks with a kidney infection. He batted sixth and went 1-for-4 with an infield single.
The Phillies still need as many as two wins in their final four games to clinch a bye. They can even go 1-3 as long as the Brewers don't win out.
“I think when you have a chance to play meaningful baseball games all the way until the end and knowing you still have a challenge ahead of you,” Schwarber said, “that can only be beneficial.”