Phillies Offense Silenced in First of Three Against Padres

The Philadelphia Phillies offense had been red hot during their tour of the West Coast against the Seattle Mariners and Los Angeles Dodgers. In seven games last week, the Phillies lineup put up 50 runs. 50.

That was not the case on Tuesday night when they returned home and hosted the San Diego Padres. In fact, Philadelphia was held scoreless in a 3-0 loss as the offense went ice cold and NL Player of the Week Bryce Harper watched from the sidelines following a PRP injection.

It was already the fourth time the Phillies were shutout this season.

Perhaps the most frustrating part for the Phillies is that it was a very winnable game against a very good team. Starting pitcher Zach Eflin returned from the COVID-19 list to pitch six innings, giving up just one run on five hits and striking out five. 

However, it was James Norwood who would come on in relief of Eflin and was only able to record one out while giving up two earned runs. Philadelphia's bullpen did it again, they allowed a great start to get wasted by allowing untimely hits and runs. 

Fortunately, the Phillies lineup has been able to pick up the slack in the month of May for the bullpen, but last night was not the case. Philadelphia was only able to notch five hits on the night, two of which came from Nick Castellanos and none with runners in scoring position. 

Additionally, no one in the lineup drew any walks. It was both a testament to Mike Clevinger and Mackenzie Gore's work, as well the Phillies' inability to draw walks as evidenced by their 105 walk total this season, good for 24th in the MLB.

Aside from Eflin's return, the highlight of the night was Jean Segura's single that brought his hitting streak to 13 games. 

Much like last season, Harper's absence from the lineup truly affected performance. His elbow was still sore yesterday following a PRP injection for a small tear in his UCL. There is hope he will be able to play on Wednesday evening. 

Prior to his injection, Harper slashed .609/.643/1.261 on the West Coast road trip. That production, which is of insane proportions, carried the team last week and could have helped turned the tide on Tuesday.

Philadelphia is slated to take on the Padres again on Wednesday with first pitch scheduled for 6:45 p.m. 

Zack Wheeler will face off against Blake Snell, the former who is making his first start of the season.

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