Phillies' Offense Has Gone Cold at the Wrong Time

The Philadelphia Phillies' offense has gone cold at the wrong time with the playoffs right around the corner.

Sep 19, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Alec Bohm (28) follows through on an RBI single against the New York Mets during the fourth inning at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Philadelphia Phillies suffered a second straight loss to the New York Mets on Saturday, and once again they struggled in a key area. 

After a really great August, the Phillies have not had the same type of success in September. With the stretch run here, Philadelphia has not played their best baseball. 

Through 17 games, the team now has a record of 7-10 in September, and while they are still in a great position to make the playoffs, they have seen the San Diego Padres chase them down in the wild card race and the Atlanta Braves have been able to hold on to the National League East lead.

With the race for the top wild card spot really heating up, every game counts right now for the Phillies. Unfortunately, they have not been playing their best baseball of late, and the struggles of the offense have to be a concern. 

Phillies Offense Continues to Struggle

Sep 18, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; Philadelphia Phillies left fielder Edmundo Sosa (33) hits a solo home run in the sixth inning against the New York Mets at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

For the fifth straight game, Philadelphia was able to score just three runs on Saturday. Somewhat surprisingly, they have been able to go 2-3 despite this, but that isn’t going to be sustainable. 

The struggles of some key players like Brandon Marsh, Kyle Schwarber, and Trea Turner of late have had a negative impact on the team. Both Marsh and Schwarber were All-Stars this year, but have not performed well in the last seven days; they have all had an OPS below .650. 

Overall, the team has ranked in the bottom half of the league in most offensive categories this month, and there is simply too much talent in this lineup for that to happen. 

If the Phillies are going to have a successful October, the offense has to get going. Scoring three runs in five straight games is a strange feat to achieve, but one that must be fixed. 

The team has recently shown some good patience at the plate that has been good to see, but they need to be able to get some timely hits in order to score runs. 

While the struggles of late have been noticeable, there aren’t too many players on the team that have done well offensively. With seven games to go, the time for them to break out of this slump is now. The Phillies have been a bit of an inconsistent team offensively this season, and they have unfortunately fallen into a rut at the wrong time.