Struggling Phillies Dealt Harsh Blow as Bryce Harper & Jose Alvarado’s Lingering Absence Fuels Slide

Momentum is a fragile thing. One week, a team can look like world-beaters, and the next, they can’t seem to buy a win. The Philadelphia Phillies are finding that out the hard way. The team is playing horribly on the field. And as if that wasn’t bad, they have to overcome this slump with the absence of two irreplaceable stars, Bryce Harper and Jose Alvarado. It’s a perfect storm of bad luck and worse timing.

The downturn has been brutal and fast. The club has dropped nine of its last 10 games. This was part of a grueling stretch that featured a demoralizing three-game sweep at the hands of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Making things worse, Slugger Harper was placed on the 10-day injured list on June 7. He is dealing with recurring right wrist inflammation that has evidently impacted his swing. Things would’ve still been manageable if it were just him. But reliever Alvarado began his 80-game PED suspension on May 18 last year, which took another dominant arm (2.70 ERA) out of their bullpen.

This disastrous stretch has not gone unnoticed by experts. The team’s recent performance has caused a significant drop in their standing. According to Gabe Lacques of USA TODAY Sports, the situation is dire. “The Philadelphia Phillies can’t win. And Bryce Harper can’t swing,” he writes. Lacques confirms that “the free-falling Phillies have dropped three spots in USA TODAY Sports’ power rankings.” This public decline highlights just how severe the team’s current slump has become in the eyes of analysts.

The timing could not be worse in the competitive National League East. “Once comfortably perched atop the National League East, the Phillies are in danger of losing touch with the New York Mets,” Lacques noted. The Phillies now trail the Mets, and the road ahead is tougher. Their next opponent is the dynamic Chicago Cubs, who is battling the Mets for the best record in the league. There are no easy games on the horizon for the struggling Philadelphia squad.

Inside the clubhouse, the players and staff feel the pressure. Manager Rob Thomson acknowledged the team’s inconsistency. “It’s weird. I feel like we either can get really hot or really cold,” he said. He believes players are “trying to do too much.” Outfielder Brandon Marsh admitted the game is “very, very tough.” He stressed the need to “play hard no matter if you’re doing good, doing bad, or in between.” The sentiment shows a team searching for answers amid a tough stretch.

A season at a crossroads: Phillies’ troubles deepen

The offensive struggles are impossible to ignore. The team is collectively hitting .250, and their 68 home runs rank in the middle of the pack. Over the last ten games, the offense has produced just three runs per game. This is a significant decrease from their season average of 4.57 runs per game. That power outage means they can’t overcome any mistakes. It’s been the lack of clutch hitting that’s done the most damage in their recent descent into mediocrity.

The pitching has been just as bad on the other side of the ball. The team’s overall ERA is a mediocre 4.01, placing them 19th in the league. And the bullpen has emerged as a specific area of vulnerability. The bullpen has a demoralizing 4.67 ERA. Thanks to this list, a shaky unit is now even more exposed in the wake of Alvarado’s exit. Bad hitting plus bad pitching is a recipe for losing baseball games, and the Phillies are here to prove it.

The lineup will have a huge hole with Harper gone. He was hitting .258 with 9 home runs. And these numbers are significantly less than his elite career averages of a .281 batting average and .519 slugging percentage. In his last two games, he was 0-for-8 with five strikeouts, demonstrating his wrist had indeed been a problem.

The Phillies’ problems are deep and interconnected. Besides Harper and Alvarado, starter Aaron Nola is on the 15-day injured list with an ankle sprain. With a 37-28 record and in second place in the NL East, the team’s once-promising season is at a crossroads. The front office must act decisively before the trade deadline to plug these glaring holes. Can this team find its heart and fight back, or will this slide define their 2025 season?

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