3 Numbers to Remember: Phillies freefall continues as bats disappear

The Philadelphia Phillies lost their seventh straight game on Sunday, as the bats could not overcome a poor outing from Enyel De Dos Santos. Even the most optimistic Phillies fan could not excuse the pitiful performance from the team this weekend, with the National League-worst Miami Marlins sweeping them.

The Phillies have been in a deep spiral lately, and these are three numbers to explain why:

Zero: Hits recorded by J.T. Realmuto and Jay Bruce in series

Jay Bruce was a big reason the Phillies didn’t immediately fall apart when Andrew McCutchen went down for the season. And as he has progressively fallen back to earth over the last couple weeks, the Phillies have gotten very little production from their offense.

In his last eight games, Bruce has only one extra-base hit and a .495 OPS, and has not played well enough considering the role the Phillies and Gabe Kapler are using him in as a middle of the lineup threat. And, over that time, the Phillies offense has sputtered.

The problem here is not with Bruce himself, as he is clearly not a player the Phillies offense should have to rely on to win games. But the fact that it has come to that point is symptomatic of just how much this offense has underperformed.

Realmuto is one guy who has underwhelmed at the plate all season long. While he has exceeded all expectations defensively, the 28-year-old has not brought the middle-of-the-order production that the Phillies thought they were getting when they acquired him in February.

Through 72 games, Realmuto is hitting .260/.317/.426 and is on pace for his worst offensive season since 2015. His production is acceptable for a majority of everyday catchers in baseball,  but not one who was just acquired for the team’s top prospect Sixto Sanchez and promising young catcher Jorge Alfaro.

Zero: Leads held by Phillies pitching

After the offense went silence in Friday night’s 2-1 loss against the Marlins, it showed up in spurts and gave its pitchers leads in each of the final two games of the series. Both leads, however, did not last.

Saturday’s blown lead hurt the most, as trusted reliever Adam Morgan finally returned from injury only to give away a two-run lead the Phillies had going into the seventh inning. The Phillies only held a lead for a short part of Sunday’s game, as a 2-1 advantage quickly disappeared in the second inning when Enyel De Los Santos allowed a two-run home run to J.T. Riddle.

Phillies pitching has been absolutely brutal in June. With up to six relievers on the injured list at times, young pitchers clearly not yet ready for the majors have been forced onto the scene. This has led to a disastrous month for a Phillies bullpen that includes the likes of Edgar Garcia and J.D. Hammer:

Phillies bullpen rankings since June 1st:
ERA: 29th (7.22)
FIP: 30th (7.10)
HR/9: 30th (2.83)
BB/9: 29th (5.02)
K/BB: 30th (1.69)
WHIP: 30th (1.92)
fWAR: 29th (-0.7)

— Jonny Heller (@jonnyheller) June 23, 2019

-38: Phillies run differential in June

It’s been quite a tough stretch for the Phillies. They aren’t pitching well, they aren’t scoring runs, and are in a freefall unrivaled in recent memory.  The injuries to the bullpen, as well as Andrew McCutchen, are partially to blame. But what this has come down to is underperformances all around for a team that had such hefty expectations heading into this season.

All of a sudden, the team has a -8 run differential on the season. They are one game over .500 for the first time since April 22 and, while they haven’t been .500 or below all season, they may be soon.

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