June 26, 2025
Maria Lysaker/Imagn Images
Philadelphia Phillies left fielder Kyle Schwarber (12) looks on during the first inning against the Houston Astros at Daikin Park.
The Phillies rolled into Houston red-hot after taking another series, against the Mets, that vaulted them into first place in the National League East.
They exited on Thursday with their first lost series – a three-game sweep by the Astros – since getting swept by the Pirates from June 6-8. Even worse, they head to Atlanta for a three-game set toting some ice-cold bats.
After being shut out on Tuesday and Wednesday, the Phillies at least managed a run Thursday but still lost their third straight game. It's not as if the Astros were much better; they only outscored the Phils 5-1 in the entire razor-thin series between the 2022 World Series contestants.
The Phillies didn't score their first run of the series until Brandon Marsh's eighth-inning sac fly plated Bryson Stott, but Astros rookie Cam Smith ended a long scoreless streak from Phils reliever Orion Kerkering when he singled home Isaac Paredes in the the bottom of the eighth, leaving longtime Astros high-leverage reliever Bryan Abreu to retire the Phillies in order on three strikeouts to cement the sweep.
The Phillies, who continued to be without All Star first baseman Bryce Harper, now head to Atlanta to take on the NL rival Braves for a three-game series and can only hope the bats warm up. According to a report from The Athletic earlier in the week, there's some optimism that Harper could return against the Braves.
Bryce Harper (wrist) is doing his “full routine” today. Everyone is reporting good progress; the club remains vague on a timetable. They haven’t ruled out a return this weekend in Atlanta, but next week sounds more realistic.
— Matt Gelb (@MattGelb) June 24, 2025
Most of the Phillies' 15 total hits in the series came from the bottom of the order. Edmundo Sosa had two hits from the seventh hole in the opener, ninth-hitter Brandon Marsh had two hits on Wednesday, and Raul Marchan – in his only game appearance – got two hits from the eighth spot Thursday. The only other Phillie with more than one hit in any game of the series was Kyle Schwarber, who had two on on Wednesday. Sosa produced the Phils' lone extra-base hit of the series, a double in the opener.
Collectively, the Phillies batted .160 (15-for-94) in the series, facing Astros starters Framber Valdez, Colton Gordon, and Hunter Brown. MLB's worst batting team entering Thursday was the Chicago White Sox at .220 – still 60 points better than what the Phillies managed against Houston.
Trea Turner got two hits in 12 at-bats and struck out four times, Kyle Schwarber went 2-for-12 with five strikeouts, and Nick Castellanos went 2-for-12 with five strikeouts and grounded into a double play. Alec Bohm won't want to see the Astros anytime soon as he went 0-for-11 with four strikeouts.The Astros entered Thursday's action with a 3.42 ERA, fifth-best in the majors and with MLB leader Hunter Brown (1.87) on the hill. Brown lowered his ERA to 1.74 after tossing seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out nine.
At one point, the Phillies had a scoreless innings streak of 26 innings before Marchan's RBI sac fly in the eighth, their longest scoreless innings streak since a 30-inning drought in 2010.
Don't blame Phillies pitching for the sweep, as Ranger Suárez, Zack Wheeler and Cristopher Sánchez each pitched more than well-enough to win. The trio combined to allow three runs on 13 hits across 19 2/3 innings, the kind of mastery that would ordinarily lead to the Phillies sweeping their opponent, not vice-versa.
Suárez's only mistake was a Cooper Hummel homer with one out in the eighth on Tuesday. Wheeler nearly threw 50 pitches in his first two innings before settling in, allowing just one run, and Sánchez fell one short of a career high by fanning 11.
Two of the Astros' five runs were allowed by the Phillies bullpen, as lefty Matt Strahm's struggles continued when he allowed an insurance solo shot to Victor Caratini in the eighth on Wednesday, and Kerkering – who hadn't allowed an earned run since May 6 – gave up an RBI single to Smith that ended his scoreless innings streak at 19.
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