PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The third-place Phillies are closer to last place in the National League East than they are to first.
Heading into Tuesday’s action, the Phils are 11.5 games behind the first-place New York Mets. They’re two games behind second-place Atlanta, the defending World Series champions who will likely get into a rhythm sooner than later.
Meanwhile, the Phils are only a half-game ahead of the fourth-place Marlins and just three-and-a-half games better than last-place Washington.
“I’m not saying that it’s early, but this is a marathon,” manager Joe Girardi said of the 162-game season after Game 49, a 5-4 extra-inning loss to Gabe Kapler’s San Francisco Giants. “As easy as you can have a tough two-and-a-half weeks, you can have a really good two-and-a-half weeks.”
The Phils have certainly had a tough couple of weeks.
On May 14, they defeated the National League West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers 8-3 for their fifth win in six games, all on the road. They had a chance to sweep the Dodgers on May 15, but closer Corey Knebel blew the save with two outs in the ninth inning. That began a stretch of 11 losses in 15 games.
Knebel has allowed home runs in the ninth innings of the past two losses. His earned run average in May is 5.40.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a tough month for me,” Knebel said Monday after losing to San Francisco. “I’ve had two bad outings in a row. It’s just two solo homers.”
Many, however, would argue an ERA over 5 for May is a tough month.
Then, there’s starting pitcher Kyle Gibson, who had a decent outing Monday, allowing two runs over six innings. He allowed a game-tying two-run home run to Wilmer Flores.
“This is probably the best team I’ve ever been on,” Gibson said to NBC Sports Philadelphia. “I’ve been on teams that have been to the playoffs, and this is the best team I’ve ever been on.”
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That’s the thing — this team on paper should be much better than a 21-28 record. They have a franchise-record payroll. They have gone over the luxury tax for the first time in team history. There were questions about the defense and bullpen, but they were supposed to hit their way out of those weaknesses.
On Monday, they had five hits, zero walks, 10 strikeouts and a runner in scoring position only once — in the 10th inning, when the rules mandate someone start at second base to make sure the game doesn’t go too deep into extra innings.
“It’s a matter of time,” added Gibson. “It’s cliche, and I know everybody’s waiting, but sometimes that’s how baseball is.”
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Baseball, as Girardi often says, is a production-based business. The Phillies are doing the antithesis of that. Over the weekend, Girardi said he is not worried about his job security, but as each day passes and the Phils fall further and further down the standings, some wonder if a change will be made, if simply just to spark something new.
So far, there have been no public rumblings, but it’s no secret the Phils have to turn this around as soon as possible.
“I believe in everybody in that room,” Girardi said. “There’s a lot of fight in that room every day. We’ve been through a grueling two-and-a-half weeks and we’ve been through some really tough losses. They’ll respond.”
Tick tock.
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