Philadelphia Phillies Woes Continue, Drop Series Finale to Reds

The Philadelphia Phillies (3-6) just can't seem to get out of their own way here in the early goings of the 2023 MLB season.

Philadelphia was unable to complete the sweep of the Cincinnati Reds (4-4) on Easter Sunday and very nearly lost the series had it not been for some walk-off heroics from second baseman Bryson Stott on Saturday.

Starter Taijuan Walker gave a strong outing, a 4.2 inning appearance resulting two earned runs. It was a much stronger and encouraging start than his first of the season.

His offense even gave him some support early, a rarity this season. First baseman Alec Bohm smacked a two-run home run in the fourth inning to give the Phillies a 4-2 lead.

But that's where the positives ended. For the next five innings Philadelphia was unable to generate any offense or give themselves any insurance runs for cushion. It shouldn't have been a problem as Gregory Soto and Jose Alvarado both looked incredible in relief. Soto pitched a perfect sixth inning and Alvarado struck out the side in the seventh.

Dominance.

Then Craig Kimbrel was called upon and he gave up a run in the eighth.

Again, Phillies still had a 4-3 lead and were depending on Seranthony Dominguez to right the ship and record the save in the ninth.

However, Dominguez has not been dominant this season and his struggles continued on Sunday. He gave up three earned runs and allowed Cincinnati to take a 6-4 lead, one Philadelphia could not recover from.

The Phillies have struggled offensively, but four runs should have been enough on Sunday. It wasn't.

It's tough not having Bryce Harper, Rhys Hoskins and Darick Hall in the lineup. The pitching depth has taken a hit with Ranger Suarez and Andrew Painter out with injury.

Yes, they added Trea Turner who has been incredible to start the season, but one man can only do so much.

Philadelphia is a talented team. Dominguez is a talented pitcher. Is there room for worry? Yes.

Is it time to panic? No.

Yes, it's a long season, but every game of the 162-game scheduled is created equally. The Phillies will get back on track. They just have to sort through this messy start.

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