On Sunday morning, things seemed to be going well for the Phillies. They had won three straight games, and their pitching staff was dominating the Cardinals. And then after taking an early lead in Sunday’s game, something seemed to shift, and they have not won since.
Part of the problem is that because of both injury and distrust of science, they’ve had to use two bullpen games over that four-game stretch. (It didn’t help that neither of the two normally good starters they used pitched well either.) Part of the problem is that the lineup is really showing the effects of missing Bryce Harper, especially now that Kyle Schwarber’s inevitable cool down seems to have happened.