There is no kidding yourself about the current state of the Philadelphia Phillies, and their star first baseman put it best: they need some help, and not just on the field.
With the trade deadline just four days away, there is still time for Dave Bombrowski to improve the roster. Unfortunately, during a horrid series that saw the Phillies get swept at the hands of the Marlins, off-the-field drama also reared its ugly head.
Regardless of where you fall on what the team needs to do and how it should be said by whom, there are still games to be played on the field. Andrew Painter is being recalled and he will get things started on the mound as the Phillies look to rebound down in Baltimore in a weekend series against the Orioles.
Tonight: RHP Andrew Painter (1-8, 7.06 ERA) vs. RHP Brandon Young (8-2, 3.13 ERA)
Saturday: LHP Christopher Sánchez (13-4, 2.73 ERA) vs. RHP Shane Baz (4-9, 3.98 ERA)
Sunday: RHP Zack Wheeler (10-2, 2.53 ERA) vs. RHP Kyle Bradish (7-9, 3.74 ERA)
Philadelphia is 3-9 since the All-Star break. They have not won a game started by their fourth or fifth starter in over a month (June 24). They'll call upon the rookie Andrew Painter to attempt to buck that trend. Painter was not stellar during his time in Triple-A, but in his last two starts, he seemed to turn a corner, recording just one walk in his final 11 innings before his return to the majors.
Sánchez will look to bounce back from a forgettable July where he recorded a 6.65 ERA over four starts. His ERA rose from 2.00 to 2.74 over that span. The ace left-hander has only had three starts allowing one or no runs since the calendar turned to June.
Sunday, the veteran Wheeler will look to put his worst start of the season where he lasted just three innings and surrendered five earned runs. More concerning, Wheeler's velocity and spin rate were down through the outing. While fans and media alike ran right to concerns, the club indicated that Wheeler was dealing with nausea throughout the day of his last start. Sunday will prove if it was truly a one-off or if the concern should remain.
The pitching is not the only part of the team that has struggled lately. Philly's offense has been cold throughout July. Since the midsummer break, their OPS has been a paltry .301 OBP - somehow lower than their league-worst .303 mark on the season.
Luckily for them, they are best when facing right-handed pitching as their top hitters - Bryce Harper, Brandon Marsh and Kyle Schwarber - are all left-handed. Their team OPS goes up by 20 points when facing right-handed pitching, with their slugging jumping over 25 points. Baltimore's staff has done a good job limiting the long ball, but more than half the homers their staff has surrendered overall has come off the bat of left-handed hitters.
While the Orioles are close to the Wild Card in the American League, this series could also be an opportunity for the Phillies front office to get eyes on potential trade targets.
Outfielders Tyler O'Neill and Taylor Ward are both right-handed, something the Phillies have been searching for seemingly every season. They also have rental pitchers who could become available, like right-handed reliever Andrew Kittredge and left-handed starter Trevor Rogers, both of whom would fill a current need on the Phillies roster.
One thing remains true for Philadelphia: if the men making big money who already don the Phillies uniform do not turn it on for the stretch run, this series - nor any potential deadline addition to the roster - will matter much in the end.
