There are a number of reasons why the Phillies have lost 18 out of their last 23 games. The caliber of the competition has gone up considerably. The offense is still mostly miserable. And the bullpen, particularly Hector Neris, hasn’t been as solid as it was early on.
But the offense was struggling as the Phillies raced out to a 24-17 record and moved to within a half-game of first place on May 18. The reason they were able to keep winning all those one-run games was the performance of the starting rotation.
Aaron Nola, Jeremy Hellickson, Jerad Eickhoff, Vincent Velasquez and the combination of Adam Morgan and Charlie Morton all pitched far better than expectations.