I guess you could say that the Phillies had a weird seven hours on Thursday during their double-header with the lowly Mets. They opened the day by playing one of the worst games of the franchise’s 136-year history in a laughably embarrassing 24-4 loss, but then rebounded with an important 9-6 win in a must-have game.

Over the two games, Phillies pitchers (and center fielder and shortstop) allowed 30 runs, 34 hits, and 12 walks to Mets hitters, but, somehow, by night’s end they had managed to gain ground on the Braves in the National League East. Strange day, indeed.

In many ways, it was a day that epitomizes this team. I feel pretty confident in writing that the Phillies aren’t particularly good, at least not good in a traditional sense. They too often don’t hit and they are a disaster defensively. They have experienced inexplicable and gut-wrenching losses. They have looked like a circus act on some nights. It matters not. They continue to bounce back, no matter how bad things seem. And they seemed pretty bad today. I mean, look at some of the shit this team did today:

It took all of one pitch to fall behind. Ranger Suarez had nothing. This is some line that he had:

4 IP, 11 H, 8 R, 2 BB

Of course, it wasn’t entirely his fault. He didn’t get much help from his defense. And by much help I mean no help, but the most egregious defensive miscue came after his exit:

What the hell is this? How? This play was just one boner in a game full of them which helped the Mets plate 10 unearned runs. It also extended the inning, causing this:

A 10-run fifth inning? The Mets shouldn’t have scored 10 runs in this five-game series, let alone in a single inning, but it was a well-deserved outcome for a team that looked completely unprepared to play this afternoon.

Things got so out of hand that by the seventh inning Gabe Kapler handed the ball to Roman Quinn. The predictable ensued.

Quinn allowed seven earned runs on six hits and two walks, but couldn’t get through a second inning of work after 42 pitches, which led to…whatever the fuck this was:

And I know that I’m nuts, but when the typically affable Jim Salisbury gets cranky, you know things were bad:

Still, as has often been the case this season, just when it feels appropriate and justifiable to bury the Phillies, they promptly bounce back. That’s exactly what they did in the second game.

Their flaccid bats finally woke up and pounded out 14 hits. Zach Eflin, who got the shaft when he was demoted to Triple-A last weekend, showed some serious balls in overcoming a shaky start to pitch into the seventh inning.

Rhys Hoskins, who has mashed 43 home runs in his first 162 games with the Phillies, continued to show characteristics of a special player. He once again delivered in a big spot:

In fact, of his 25 homers this season, 19 of them have tied a game or put the Phillies in the lead.

Also impressive is how they continue to pick each other up:

https://twitter.com/MLBReplays/status/1030259313145655296

In short, the Phillies looked like an embarrassed and angered team that was in desperate search of a win only hours after looking unfocused, disinterested, and simply not good enough. What these guys are, I don’t know. Your guess is as good as mine, but I can tell you that despite an inauspicious start, the Phillies still had a good day. Somehow.