Short-Handed Philadelphia Phillies Battered by Toronto Blue Jays

In one fell wingbeat, the Philadelphia Phillies are suddenly in freefall. They took the loss in Wednesday's game against the Blue Jays, who completed a two-game sweep and handed Philadelphia their fourth straight loss.

It was an ugly contest by all accounts. After a smooth first two innings, Zack Wheeler showed cracks in the third, allowing a run to score on back-to-back singles. Things really got out of hand in the fourth, when both Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Teoscar Hernández homered, quickly digging the Phillies into a four-run hole.

Things only worsened from there. Three straight singles kicked off the fifth, plating one, and a Vlad Jr. sac-fly drove in another run. Zack Wheeler exited after 4.2 innings, following what was statistically his worst start since the early goings of the season. He allowed six runs on seven hits, striking out just four.

The lone bright spot for the Phillies came in the top of the seventh, as Bryson Stott launched a laser of a two-run home run. It was the rookie's second home run in as many days. Stott has really begun to find his footing at the major league level.

Another one for Bryson #RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/A8AdfVfUzZ
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) July 14, 2022

Unfortunately, the youngster’s home run was one of just two hits the Phillies would manage, the other of which came on a sharp line drive double by Nick Castellanos in the fourth inning.

In lighter news, this game also featured two major league debuts, as Nick Duron pitched a scoreless inning of relief, and Bubby Rossman allowed two to score on to Teoscar Hernández's second home run of the night. That capped off the scoring in this one, and the Phillies would fall 8-2.

Still, major congratulations are in order for both of the aforementioned players, who had their dreams realized on Wednesday. A tip of the cap is also due to Blue Jays interim manager John Schneider, who took over after Charlie Montoyo was relieved of his duties early Wednesday afternoon. The Jays' triumph served as Schneider's first ever managerial win.

The Phillies will take a much-needed day off on Thursday, and will look to bounce back against the dreaded Miami Marlins come Friday, as they kick off a three game set.

Surely every Phillies fan is looking forward to what should be another perfectly normal, and not painful in any way, installment of Phillies versus Marlins baseball. What could possibly go wrong?

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