The Philadelphia Phillies were the hottest team in baseball over the first half of the season. The Phillies sent three offensive starters to the All-Star game for the first time in 42 years. In all, the team had an MLB-best eight players in the 2024 Midsummer Classic. However, since returning from the All-Star break, the Phillies have struggled.
Starting pitcher Taijuan Walker recognized the reality of the team’s situation. “We built ourselves a pretty good cushion, but we definitely do need to start playing better baseball,” Walker said per Tim Kelly of Phillies Nation on X.
That cushion has kept Philadelphia atop the NL East with a 6.5 game lead over the second-place Atlanta Braves despite having the second-worst record in baseball since the All-Star break. The Phillies entered play on Tuesday just 7-15 with only the miserable Chicago White Sox putting up a worse record in that span (2-20). Fortunately for Philadelphia, the Braves have also struggled, going 9-14 since the Midsummer Classic.
Walker returned to the Phillies after landing on the 15-day injured list with a right index finger ailment. He got the start for Philadelphia against the Miami Marlins on Tuesday – the pitcher’s 32nd birthday. But the Marlins ruined the day for Walker and the Phillies, winning 5-0 and handing Philadelphia its 16th loss since the All-Star break.
Walker gave up four hits and three earned runs in four innings. He walked three batters and struck out five. The Phillies’ bullpen surrendered two more runs over the next five innings but the team could only muster four hits and was held without a run.
The Phillies’ Taijuan Walker wants the team to “Start playing better baseball”
“We’re in a little bit of a funk and it’s the whole team … As a team we’re just not all on the same page,” Walker said per Kelly. The loss was the fourth straight for the Phillies who fell to 69-50 on the year.
The Phillies offense has fallen off since the All-Star game. The team entered the break top six in batting average, home runs, runs, on-base percentage and OPS. Since returning, the team is 16th in batting average, 20th in home runs, 19th in runs, 17th in on-base percentage and 13th in OPS.
However, the real drop off for the Phillies has been in the team’s pitching. Prior to the break, Philadelphia was top three in ERA, quality starts, strikeouts, WHIP, WPA and fWAR. Since the All-Star game, Phillies pitchers are 23rd in ERA, 21st in quality starts, 18th in strikeouts and 25th in WHIP, WPA and fWAR.
“We played really, really good baseball for a long time … It’s gonna be sooner rather than later that we’re going to get out of [the funk] but that’s kind of when you want to get hot again – September, towards the end of the year, and then make a run for the playoffs,” Walker said via Kelly on X.
Despite the slide the Phillies still lead the division and boast one of the most talented rosters in baseball. The team is still top three in the latest MLB Power Rankings. They'll look to turn things around during a four-game series against the Washington Nationals starting August 15.
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