By: Matthew Mack
The Phillies won their weekend series against the St. Louis Cardinals. Despite their weaknesses continuing to appear. They will need to continue to adapt if they want to continue to be a player in the NL East.
Although they have a strong line-up, plate discipline continues to be a problem for their hitters. In yesterday’s game, the Phils struck out 13 times, that’s the highest strikeout total for St. Louis this season. If its not their plate discipline. There are continued questions about the pitching rotation. Phillies Pitcher Matt Moore struggled and others have gotten off to slow starts.
They did bounce back with an Aaron Nola start this afternoon. Two runs was all he needed while striking out 10 in a complete game shutout. Bryce Harper provided much of the power just like he did in Game one of the series by hitting a solo home run with two outs in the first.
The pitching in the series wasn’t too bad. One lingering issue is an already loaded in a deep NL East, and their pitching consistency. Though the season is very young. Philly needs to pick up the slack with the staff. Though the bullpen has not been much of an issue, this series shows that going to it early can pose many issues down the line.
Offensively, the Phils looked like they needed to play a non-NL East opponent to get something going. Jean Segura’s hitting streak still continues as he hit three doubles in the series. While JT Realmuto and Harper hit home runs in the series. It looks like it is starting to come together.
The Phillies still have a problem in centerfield. They called up Mickey Moniak from Lehigh Valley to get some offensive production. They need all the help they can get on both sides of the plate.
Philadelphia now faces the San Francisco Giants in Citizens Bank Park this week. What I’ll be watching for is how the starting rotation will fare, and if they can build off Nola’s hot start. Chase Anderson, Zack Wheeler, and Zach Eflin will appear in this series. All they need to do is to continue building momentum.
