The Phillies had their ace on the mound last and still somehow lost. Sure, Zack Wheeler pitched a below average game, but he was not given even a modicum of offensive help, needing to be better than perfect to win that game. It felt somewhat ominous since the Phillies really haven’t hit much at all this week, meaning Friday’s performance felt like a sign of things to come.
Saturday, they sent Matt Moore to the mound, not really expecting much more than for him to keep the team in the game long enough for the bullpen to shut the Reds down and for the offense to somehow solve Luis Castillo just enough to scratch out a few runs.