April 09, 2026
Ed Szczepanski/Imagn Images
The Phillies have not been very good in San Francisco over the last 12 years.
The Phillies haven't scored a run in 20 innings. They have a -15 run differential and are hitting .220, the 23rd-best batting average in the sport.
It's still very early but the signs are not good.
Philly split its road trip 3-3 with the Rockies and Giants, following up a seven-run first inning in Colorado with just 12 runs scored over the subsequent 53.
With a nine-game homestand starting Friday, here are some nagging thoughts about the slumping Phillies:
With a lineup reliant on lefty bats, like Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper, it would stand to reason that hitting southpaw pitchers might be a weakness. Add to that Brandon Marsh, Bryson Stott and Justin Crawford, and you've got five of their most important hitters working from the left side.
However, the righty hitters have been even worse:
| Category | Stat | Rank |
| Lefties vs. LHP | .193 | 23rd |
| Righties vs. LHP | .130 | 30th |
| Overall vs LHP | .159 | 30th |
| RBI vs LHP | 9 | 22nd |
| OPS vs LHP | .502 | 29th |
Harper has five hits against lefties. Schwarber has three. No one else has more than two.
“You just have to stay the course,” manager Rob Thomson said Wednesday after a 5-0 loss, (via the Athletic). “These guys are going to hit. It’s just a matter of time, and we’re just going through a dry spell. We haven’t really hit all that much the entire season, to be honest. But they’re going to hit at some point. … I trust these guys. They’re going to get it done.”
Is this just a weird, small sample size thing? Or is it a serious concern?
According to Thomson, this is coming. What should it look like?
Despite the Phils having multiple hitters who profile as a leadoff man, like current 1-hole hitter Trea Turner, 9-hole hitter Justin Crawford and even Bryson Stott, you can bet he's going to have Schwarber hitting first. It was the team's bread and butter when it was making deep playoff runs.
Perhaps splitting up his lefties will help them against lefties, or make it harder for an opposing team to commit to a lefty reliever when the top of the order comes up. But obviously that logic only works if the team's righties revert back to the mean and hit lefties.
Here's what the order could look like:
We mentioned the Phillies' 20-run scoreless streak they'll carry to Citizens Bank Park Friday when the Diamondbacks come to town. This is only the third time since 2018 the Phillies have been shut out in consecutive games.
What's different this year? Is the team just getting older? Is it constructed on hitters who just don't complement each other?
Arizona has a sluggish offense as well, and on paper should be a team the Phillies can handle. The Cubs and Braves follow and those two could be more tricky (Atlanta leads the majors in pitching right now with a 2.03 team ERA).
The Phillies haven't won a series in San Francisco against the Giants in 13 years. They took two of three games in May of 2013. In that series finale, Michael Young had three hits. Ryan Howard hit fifth. Dom Brown hit a homer. Jonathan Papelbon earned a save. I feel old.
The Phillies' ace had an impressive rehab start Wednesday, pitching 4.1 innings in Triple-A and allowing just one run. However he is still not firing up the fastball, as his velocity is around 93 MPH right now — he's been in the high 90s for most of his career.
Will the Phillies let him continue to work and stretch out (he threw just 61 pitches on Wednesday)? Because they sort of need him right now. In two starts so far, Taijuan Walker has allowed 11 runs. He'll get a third against Arizona this weekend. If he doesn't improve in his next start, the Phillies might feel their hand is forced with the team struggling. A Wheeler return to the rotation would be a nice boost, regardless of his fastball velo.
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