Phillies Can't GET OUT OF THEIR OWN WAY In Back-To-Back Nights

Back-to-back nights, the Phillies blew their opportunities late to beat the Blue Jays: first, Alec Bohm and the offense shot themselves in the foot, and then an all-too-familiar sight as Jose Alvarado blew the lead on Saturday. #RingTheBell #PhiladelphiaPhillies #MLBonX

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:02

Yesterday. All my trouble seems so far away. Not looks as though that it's stay. Oh, I believe in yesterday. Suddenly. I'm not half the man I used to be.

SPEAKER_00 0:26

Welcome in, ladies and gentlemen, to another episode of the Six Ten Podcast. I'm your host, Jay Hollyhan. We're back here recapping two of Well, what's I mean, honestly, are we any surprise to poor losses by the Phillies, two bad losses by the Phillies, two losses that you know what? You didn't go out there and you could say, oh, well, we got beat. You didn't go out there and just get beat. You didn't face a pitcher like a Cam Schlittler or a Jacob Mizerowski and go, ah, you know what? The better team with the better starting pitcher, they won the game. Now I'm not saying losing is acceptable, but sometimes you just say, you know what? When you lose, you lose. When you're overmatched, you're overmatched. But the Phillies, they're not overmatched. They haven't been overmatched in their last now 12 games. They've been playing at a well below 500 rate since the start of the second half, since the post-all-star break. And now, as you go from playing your first three series out of the All-Star Break at home, and being three and six in that, we talked about that, that was unacceptable enough. But then following it up, with now a five and seven win-loss record playing the Marlins for three games, and you get swept, and you allow Miami to get back into the wild card race, you took two or three from the Orioles. Alright, fine. But you know what? You very easily could have swept the O's. You take three or four from the Nationals, you very easily could have swept the Nationals, and you very easily could have taken the first two games against the Blue Jays. There is no excuse for the fact that the Phillies have not won every single series that they have had since the first three series that they played out of the All-Star Break. The last four, they should have taken every single series. There's no excuse for how they've been playing these last twelve games. Took three now, you've you won those series against the O's and the Nationals. You at minimum did that. But when you could have stomped on the throats of those teams and risen your record even more and your standings in the wild card even more, pushed for the top spot with the Chicago Cubs. Hell, gotten back in the NL East division race. And the Phillies are, I mean, you can say bye-bye to the Atlanta Braves, you can say bye-bye to the top spot in the wild card, because right now you're in a dog fight with the Diamondbacks for the fifth spot, and you're in a dog fight with the Padres to just stay in the wild card positioning right now, to stay in a playoff spot right now. And when you look at these last two games, two games that I must say were lost in pretty different facets as we start off with Friday night's loss against the Blue Jays. Honoring Chase Hutley going up on the wall of fame. We can't even really take the time to talk about that because we have to talk about this crap. We can't have Jolly feel-good time here on this episode because we have to talk about the fact that you lost that game 5-4, and you were down five to two. You got down early. Zach Wheeler went out, and the way that it basically was put by Don Mattingley was he, you know, had some good times in that start and had some porous times. You also had some controversy as well in that game, and we'll get to that in a moment. But he gives up a home run in the top of the second. Bottom of the second, and JT hits a base hit to left, and then Marsh is able to score off the fielding area by Jesus Sanchez. Okay, tied at one. Top of the third, runner at third, one-one, Alejandro Kirk, sack fly. Now, bottom of the third, Bryce Harper ties it up with an RBI single. Now, by this point, the Blue Jays had already been inquiring that Zach Wheeler was pitching off the rubber. We'll let Zach Wheeler explain it to you in his own words. But the Toronto Blue Jays hitting coach, David Popkins, was ejected in the fourth inning because the home plate umpire had said, you know what, I've had enough of hearing from the dugout. John Tupane said he's had enough of hearing it from the dugout. I've gone out there, spoke to him about it. There's nothing that we're seeing on our end. Essentially, what he's saying is, stop your complaining and get the hell out of the game. And that's what happened. Now, Zach Wheeler explains it to you in his own right about what's happened in the past and what was going on with the Blue Jays dugout.

SPEAKER_03 5:46

Have you ever heard that complained before?

SPEAKER_05 5:48

Not until this year. I've always been over there. I've always done the same thing, and I guess I pitched one TV game, and I guess a couple guys at MLB were watching it, and uh now they decide to try to say something.

SPEAKER_01 6:00

Are you pretending you're out of the rubber, closer to a point?

SPEAKER_05 6:03

Just off the rubber, closer to the first base. I've already tried to pitch. I think it was like an NBC game earlier this year, forget.

SPEAKER_04 6:12

So when you're hearing these teams talk about it now, you know it's on a bunch of fine.

SPEAKER_05 6:19

Yeah, I mean I'm gonna keep doing what I do. I've been pitching over there forever and I'm gonna keep doing it. You know, they've lost a lot of games over there, so they're probably trying to pick some things up to complain about.

SPEAKER_00 6:28

Don Mattingley also explained it that they had been informed by Major League Baseball. They went back and looked, and apparently, you know, from the broadcast angle, from behind the pitcher's mount, so the center field camera, Wheeler looks like he's off, but their overhead camera clearly shows he's on. Now, there's been clearly back and forth with Major League Baseball. Zach Wheeler has said that's how I've always pitched. I've never heard anything about this. I don't know why it started now. He said he pitched a national televised game, someone from MLB must have been watching, and that's where this has kind of gone. Um but as you heard him, he didn't necessarily mince words about how he felt with the Blue Jays dugout, and as he said, you know, they haven't won a ton of games this year. They're just looking for something to complain about, basically, to get an edge. And he if you look at the John Boy media of it, Wheeler had some choice words for Popkins, Popkins returned the same, and now essentially it's up to Major League Baseball to officiate the situation and decide where things are gonna need to go moving forward. But you can expect this is gonna be something in every Zach Wheeler start from here on out that teams are gonna notice. But back to the game itself. So we're tied at two, and then in the fourth, Luke's RBI single off-wheeler with two outs, then in the top of the sixth with some traffic on, Tim Meza comes into the game, and then another sack fly for Kirk, and it's 4-2. Top of the eighth, they put Chase Schugert into the game in the eighth, basically in a mop-up role. He gives up a solo homer to, or I'm sorry, not Chase Sugert, uh, Killian into the game. By the way, this guy, I mean, he fits right in clearly with uh with Chase Schugert and the bunch, giving up runs uh in a mop-up role and very low leverage situations, you know, it's a 4-2 game. And hell. As we come to now know with the way the rest of that game went, that was a pretty big run right there for Toronto, as that was proven to be the game-winning run. As we get to the ninth, bottom of the ninth, and when you have a guy, a submarine pitcher, like Tyler Rogers, there can be the the these guys can be really, and it's the same for all bullpen pitchers, but especially these submarine guys, their command can be really on and can really fool hitters because the angle that they come at you, or they can be all over the place, and he was all over the place. Bryson Stott walked on five pitches, none of them really close. Justin Crawford then walks on eight pitches. He had a pretty good at bat, so there's two on, nobody out. Then Kyle Schwarber to bat, and earlier in the game, with runners at second and third, Schwarbert, Turner, and Harper all struck out, which was a moment in the game that left everyone going, Are you kidding me? Because Justin Crawford legs out a double, stretches I s air quotes around it, but stretches the du the single into a double. Second and third, nobody out. Schwarber, horrendous at bat, Trey Turner swinging at ball four, Bryce Harper, they bring in a lefty for Soriano, Harper strikes out swinging, porous at bat by really by Schwarber, that just kind of killed that rally and was a great opportunity for the Phillies there to tie the game, take the lead. Um, it was just not good. But in the ninth, fortunately, catcher's interference put Schwarber at first to load the bases. Now, Trey Turner, they bring in Derrick Hill to pinch run for Schwarber, but Trey Turner pitched low and away, love where his head's at in terms of going the other way, and you know what? He didn't from the angle on the TV, I thought he actually squared it up better, just 68.3 off the bat. It was enough to score Stott, put runners as uh Hill was out at second, put runners at the corners, and that got us to Bryce Harper. Now they scored it in RBI single for Harper, 2-2 pitch that he drove to uh the second baseman Ernie Clement, who essentially booted the ball. Everyone safe, two outs, Luis Arise, the batter, and arise with a brilliant, brilliant at bat, ten pitch at bat, he walks to then load the bases for Alec Bohm. And I, as God is my witness, said this to the TV. If I could lend an ear to Bohm and whatever baseball expertise I may have, I said, for the love of God, take the first pitch. It's a submarine pitcher, he has no command right now. Number one, odds are it's a ball, but number two, pick up on his arm slot, pick up on the release, and do not swing at the first pitch. What does he do? Swings at the first, you know what, pitch, puts it in play right to Ernie Clement, who's in. They bring the infield in, 79.1 off the bat, not scorched at him, not in the air, didn't drive it to the outfield. They get the force out at the plate. I don't know what Alejandro Kirk was doing trying to tag Trey Turner because all he needed to do was stand on home. And hell, with the way Boehm runs, if he I mean, I don't think the throw was all that accurate, was kind of down, but uh if his target by Clement is up, he may have gotten Bohm out at first, but regardless, the outs made at the plate. Then Brandon Marsh comes to bat, and he grounds out to Ernie Clement to end the game. Don Mattingley afterwards on Alec Boehm swinging at the first pitch.

SPEAKER_03 13:17

Well, I like it. If he gets a hit and gets the ball in the air, uh obviously he's not trying to hit a ground ball there. So I mean, he could have just as easily thrown right down the middle, too. So I mean, it's not like we're you know what you're trying to do. You're trying to get him up a little bit, and obviously we didn't do that, but not trying to do that.

SPEAKER_00 13:38

Don Mattingley essentially quietly, but called out Alec Boehm for that. Swinging at the first pitch, not even a good pitch to hit. It's not over the heart of the plate. It's not a pitch he could drive. It's not like he scorched it at 110 miles per hour to the third baseman who turned a double play, and you're like, man, it sucks he didn't get it to touch grass in the outfield, but man, he put a it was a good pitch to hit, and he just couldn't get it over the third baseman's head, or something like that, or down the line. It was a horrible, horrible job by Bohm. And again, it's why everyone, and then can't uh someone down the left field line had their phone out, they zoomed in on the dugout, and you could see Bohm taking his frustrations out in the dugout. I don't mind to see that. I kind of like when a player's upset at himself because he knew he did something stupid. But come on, dude. You have an opportunity to work, and and you know what? Here's what pisses you off the most. About four years ago, that wouldn't have been his at-bat. About four years ago, he would have taken a pitch, he would have thought the other way. Kind of like how Turner did with his at-bat, where he's thinking right field, Bohm would have thought the other way. He would have thought the other way, he would have tried to put something in the air, at least drive something to the outfield, but at most, just get a better pitch to hit. Not I'm looking to tear the cover off the ball, not just I'm looking to put the ball in play. You have to be smart about that. That was a horrible at-bat. Kind of like Schwerber's earlier in the game, well, to an even worse extent, because it was swinging at the first pitch, but just a total rally killer and a total bummer by Alec Bowman that one. Phillies lose 5'4, and then we move on to today. And Aaronola going against Max Scherzer. Let's get the pleasantries out of the way. Aaronola did achieve 2,000 strikeouts in a career. It's a tremendous accomplishment. Hats off. But the bottom line is the Phillies lost the game. Scherzer's on the mount. Now, to a degree, it's Max Scherzer. I know what his ERA says, but it's not some it's not this era's equilib uh uh equ equivalent of Brett Myers or anything like that. It's not someone who's just gonna go out there and give up a bunch of, you know, long balls. He's a Hall of Fame pitcher. So it didn't totally surprise me that he blanked the Phillies through five. I mean, nothing really surprises me with the Phillies offense. But then they got to him. Turner Homers, Harper Homers, it's tied at two, Brandon Marsh, a sack fly that scores a rise, Justin Crawford, an RBI triple that scores Stott. It's a 4-2 game. Now Nola was taken out earlier in the half inning prior because of a ball off his leg, so he exited, so they turned to the bullpen. Now, Don Mattingley said after the game, probably still we would have gone to the bullpen at that point. So it wasn't like uh that really killed anything from Nola's standpoint, but they go to the bullpen in the seventh. Bolin, who replaced Brooks Riley, who allowed a leadoff walk. Bolin finishes him off one, two, three, then to the top of the eighth, and in comes Alvarado. Gets Bateman to strike out on seven pitches, then he walks Guerrero, they bring in Kirk, he walks Kirk, he gets Clement to fly out to right, and then on a 2-2 pitch, or I'm sorry, on an 0-2 pitch, a sinker that he leaves at the top of the zone. And I want to see exactly where Stubbs is calling for this pitch. Looks like he's calling it low. I can't tell if he it looks like he's calling it over the heart of the plate. I would have looked for Alvarado to bury it, and he leaves it set basically center cut. Games tied at four. I I mean, what are we doing here with Jose Alvarado at this point? Why is he in the game in a meaningful situation? Now you could say, well, why not put him in an earlier he shouldn't be on the team, period. And Don Mattingley afterwards described Alvarado tonight.

SPEAKER_03 18:30

You know, it's really been the last two, right, where and maybe it's two out of three. One of those I I can't remember all the games now. Yeah, but the walks hurt us, obviously. You know, that's where you know he he gets he gets Bateman and then walks two guys, puts you in a spot, and then really has him and has O2 uh in a good spot too, and just throws the ball too much plate. So that part obviously, anytime your guys out of the bullpen walk guys, that makes you uncomfortable, especially late in the game, because that you know it usually causes traffic and the game has a better chance of spiraling on you.

SPEAKER_00 19:07

Quietly and really passive aggressively, which is how you ha really have to handle a lot of these situations if you're Don Mattingley in this day and age, basically telling you that's not good enough. That is not gonna win you baseball games. And I said this too, because I mentioned this after the game. You cannot sit there still and view this Phillies team, because I see people on social media saying, well, this team's just not a contender. This is not a contend. No duh. We knew this team wasn't a contending team when they were swept by the Mars. Hell, we knew this team wasn't a contending team when you saw those three games against the Dodgers. When you saw how they played in those final two games, and then saw how they opened the next two against the Yankees. You knew this wasn't a team that you could really sit there and go, oh, we should get behind, and they can, you know, get behind in terms of going far in the postseason. If you want to talk about just make it, because that's where we are. We just need them to make the postseason. That's where the expectations lie. That's it. Get into the postseason. We'll evaluate it from there, but you're not gonna get hurt as bad with them in the postseason if they get there this time around, because you know what you're gonna expect. You know what you're gonna expect from years past from this offense, but even if you get a lead, this bullpen is a joke. Jose Alvarado's a joke. Chase Schugert, God bless you, you shouldn't he shouldn't even be in in that situation. He really shouldn't have. He he should be used in a mop-up role at this at this point as to where he's at. Kirkering. I can't have him as the high leverage righty guy to set up Duran. We know this. Brooks Rayleigh, jury's still out on him. We Duran's fine, obviously. Bolins fine, Mesa's okay, Bacchus has been better, I suppose, but this is this is a total mess, this bullpen. Dave Dombrowski. It's funny, when he first came here as the president of baseball ops in 2021, his job to start was A, to spend money in a better fashion, but B evaluate the bullpen and build a better bullpen. We're basically at square one from where we were then, where you've got like one or two arms, and the rest of them, I mean, they they make you want to peel your eyes out. And Jose Alvarado is even worse now than he was then. And I'll tell you what, that's malpractice because unless it's a closer, I don't know many teams that still have set up guys six years down the road, usually about three years, maybe four. Is how far you go. And then after that, it's like, okay, I gotta look to move him. Because remember, about two years ago, you could have gotten something for him. You could have traded away something for him. Now you're not going to get anything. I mean, granted, it's not like you expect him to be here next year, anyways, but you're not getting you could have gotten something at the end of 2024. Some team out there would have said, hey, package him and Johan Rojas, and we'll give you something back of value. I don't know what that would have been, but it could have been something of value. That was a poorest job by Dave Dombrowski on that one. But to extras we went for the Phillies. And yeah. In the tenth, the Blue Jays scored. Sack fly by Jimenez. Fortunately, the Phillies answered with the sack fly by a rise. Bryson South walks, and he steals second, and Brandon Marsh with an opportunity to win it for you at the runner in scoring position. Unfortunately, couldn't put a good enough of a swing on a changeup. Flies out to straw. And then in the 11th, Schugert, who pitched the 10th, comes back in. Gets the first two outs. And what do you know? Can't get the last one to keep it on a 3-2 pitch, mind you. 3-2 pitch. He leaves a hanger. At that point, you gotta try and just a put away pitch to get him out. And you gotta base open. A base open. Now I don't know if that's you know, a sweeper that just I caught way too much of the plate. Way too much of the plate. I mean, why not try and get something away? Had to or had to bury that sweeper in to try and get him to swing through. Then you go to the 11th and they do nothing in the 11th, the Phillies. I mean, where you are right now, you're sixth in the wild card. As I mentioned, I mean, I don't even need to tell you about the Braves. I that's a lost cause. You're six games back of the top spot for the Cubs right now, eighteen games above 500. You're only six. You're tied with the Diamondbacks, who lost tonight to the Dodgers. And then actually they beat the Dodgers last night, a walk-off two-run homer. But you're now a game ahead of the Padres for that last spot. And again, these last 12 games, now coming into 13. I'm sorry, Toronto, but you're coming into the series, you were 54 and 62. Sure, you're three and a half games back now out of a wild card spot, but I don't I wouldn't necessarily call the Blue Jays a postseason contender coming into the series. Just like I wouldn't have said that about the Marlins when you opened that three-game series and you let them come away with a sweep. Thankfully, against out of all the teams you face so far in these last going on now 13 games, the Orioles are the closest thing to a postseason contender that you faced. And you know what? You took two or three against them. And you thankfully took three or four against the Nets, another team that I wouldn't consider a postseason contender. But now you've lost two of three to the Blue Jays, and like against the Marlins, you're hoping you can avoid a sweep tomorrow with Lazardo on the mound. And here's the other thing, which basically this is right now a carbon copy of that Marlin series. But remember, these last twelve games that they've played, they're five and seven against these teams. Five and seven. That's a joke. Because you very easily could have been on a thirteen game because they won that last game against the Yankees prior to going down to Miami. You could have easily been on a 13-game win streak. None of these games I know they lost 10-40 the other night to the Nats, but that was an extras. None of these games are necessarily what I would call out of reach. And for five out of the seven losses that you've had since that game one against Miami have all been due to the bullpen. They have given the bullpen leads late and they can't close. You think about that blown save for Duran in Miami. You think about Lazardo going out there to pitch with a 6-0 lead. The following game against the Orioles, where they gave the bullpen a late lead up 4-2. You think about the Nat series, where you had a late lead and Brooks Rayleigh came in, and sure, he fits right in with the bullpen, I suppose, giving up that lead. Last night. Well, actually last night, I'll give you last night. I'll give you last night and that loss against Sandy Alcantara in Miami, where that's on the offense, and that's a separate thing. But when you have a Lee late with a bullpen and you think you're a postseason team, forget about a World Series, I mean, for sure World Series contender. But at most a postseason team, you close those games. And we're not at the end of May. We're not in April. We're in August. I don't want to hear about dog days. You had your dog days. This Phillies team is going nowhere at the moment. Until that bullpen can figure it out, until that offense can figure out. I mean, well, we'll we talk about the offense until we're blue in the face. But until that bullpen can close him out for you, no faith in the bullpen, no faith in this team. We'll talk to you later.

SPEAKER_01 28:07

Come away, come away, leave it all far behind you. I can see I can see the strength there inside you. Calling you come away to where you're bright, hide and hopefully.