Philadelphia Phillies Lineup Falling Woefully Short in This One Key Area

The Philadelphia Phillies have hit a bit of a rough patch recently, following up arguably their hottest stretch of the season with some underwhelming play.

Dating back to May 27, the Phillies are 3-9, watching their grip on the National League East loosen as the New York Mets got hot right as they cooled down. That has Philadelphia looking up at the Mets.

One of the reasons that the team has struggled so much over this recent stretch is their inability to consistently score runs.

As shared by Matt Gelb of The Athletic (subscription required), the Phillies are averaging only 3.08 runs per game over their last 12 contests, which would be the least in baseball. Currently, it is the Colorado Rockies who score the fewest runs per game at 3.14.

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The second-lowest mark belongs to the Pittsburgh Pirates, who just completed a sweep over Philadelphia, winning all three games despite scoring more than two runs only once.

What did the Pirates do to keep the Phillies off balance so much at the plate?

Fed them a healthy dose of breaking balls.

Also shared by Gelb, during this recent skid, Philadelphia has a slugging percentage of .273 against non-fastballs. That is by far the worst mark in baseball, with the next closest team being 20 points better.

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This has been an issue all season long, with the team ranking 25th in the MLB in slugging percentage against non-fastballs.

It is a stark contrast to what the team was able to do in 2024, when opponents challenged them and they responded.

“The Phillies have seen off-speed and breaking pitches at roughly the same rate as last season (45 percent), and opposing teams could exploit it further without Phillies hitters producing more on those pitches,” Gelb wrote.

Out of the 10 Phillies players who have the most plate appearances thus far in 2025, only center fielder Brandon Marsh hasn’t seen a decrease in his slugging percentage against non-fastballs.

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His slugging percentage has increased from .371 to .450.

Everyone else has seen their number go down, with third baseman Alec Bohm, first baseman Bryce Harper, left fielder Max Kepler, catcher J.T. Realmuto and second baseman Bryson Stott all seeing their slugging percentages drop by at least 100 points.

It is a concerning development and one that could derail the 2025 campaign for the franchise.

Until Philadelphia proves it can handle spin, opposing pitching staffs are going to rely on it more and more, especially because of how much success they have when facing fastballs.

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