Phillies Offense Plays Into Fanbase’s Fear in Meek Opening Series

The Phillies made 14 outs before their first hit on Saturday and 15 on Sunday.

Bryce Harper was one of many Phillies hitters who struggled in the opening series. | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Whether or not their starting pitcher allows a couple of home runs like Jesus Luzardo and Aaron Nola did Saturday and Sunday, the Phillies won't be winning many games in 2026 if their lineup fails to pick up a hit for half the day.

The offense was anemic all weekend aside from one inning, the bottom of the ninth Saturday, which was only extended because of a missed catch error on a popup. The Phillies made 14 outs before their first hit on Saturday and 15 outs before their first hit on Sunday, which was a dribbler down the third-base line by Justin Crawford to open the sixth.

Justin Crawford breaks up the no-hitter with an infield single to start the sixth inning. pic.twitter.com/OoPMqIFUnN

— Todd Zolecki (@ToddZolecki) March 29, 2026

Yuck.

Uphill battles

The Phils were 0-for-17 with seven strikeouts and a walk (J.T. Realmuto) in their first trip through the batting order in the last two losses. By the time they had a baserunner or any meaningful offensive threat brewing Sunday, they trailed by six runs.

Both days, the Rangers' left-handed starting pitcher set the tone, Jacob Latz on Saturday and Mackenzie Gore on Sunday. Gore has had the Phillies' number the last five times he's faced them. They've all been quality starts and he has a 2.15 ERA with 42 strikeouts and six walks in 29⅓ innings.

Big chance wasted

The Phillies finally had an opportunity in the bottom of the sixth Sunday as Gore was wearing down. They loaded the bases on Crawford's infield single, a Trea Turner walk and a Kyle Schwarber single to center. Up came Bryce Harper with nobody out, the bases loaded and the Phillies trailing by six. They still had 12 outs left and the ability to make it a game with one big inning.

Harper fouled off the first pitch, a slider on the inner half. He looked at the next, a misplaced sinker up but in the strike zone that he may have been able to do damage against. The third was a fastball away to set up a low-and-away curveball, which was perfectly executed by Gore and swung through by Harper for a strikeout.

Bryce Harper struck out with the bases loaded and nobody out and the Philly crowd booed him while he was walking to the dugout 👀 pic.twitter.com/uLZLr8Jfva

— js9innings (@js9inningsmedia) March 29, 2026

The Phils scored twice in the inning on an Alec Bohm hit by pitch and Adolis Garcia sacrifice fly but it wasn't nearly enough with the bases loaded and nobody out. A two-run single or three-run double from Harper in that spot, the kind of clutch hit Phillies fans have grown accustomed to from the two-time MVP, would have awakened a frustrated crowd and potentially opened the floodgates for the rest of the lineup. It wasn't meant to be on the first Sunday of the regular season.

Cold up and down the lineup

The two best bats for the Phils this weekend against the Rangers were Brandon Marsh, whose two-run single tied the game in the ninth inning Saturday, and Crawford, who is 3-for-9 with two singles up the middle, an infield single and walk out of the nine-hole. The Phillies scored five runs on Opening Day on a two-run homer by Schwarber and three-run shot from Bohm but have struggled to even put runners in scoring position since.

It obviously does not mean the 2026 Phillies are doomed, they're just off to the exact sort of slow start that highlights the fanbase's primary concern of not enough offense.

Gore is a very good pitcher, so Sunday's futility was more understandable than Saturday's when the Phillies mustered one hit in eight innings against Latz, Cole Winn, Jalen Beeks and Jakob Junis.

The next series does provide Phils hitters a chance to get on track. Monday's opponent is Nationals left-hander Foster Griffin, who is making his first career start and first major-league appearance since 2022. The Nats are expected to lose 100-plus games and are not well-stocked anywhere — lineup, rotation or bullpen.

They're the kind of opponent any team will be disappointed not to win a series against, particularly if coming off one as meek as the Phillies just finished.