Hitting Season looks like it was only for a short bit.

The Phillies lost two of three to the San Diego Padres this weekend after sweeping the Chicago Cubs at home. But it did start well.

After Bryce Harper’s walk-off grand slam, he hit a three-run bomb while J.T. Realmuto recorded three hits as the Phils won 8-4 Friday night. The team as a whole recorded 12 hits in the game and they also moved into a tie for the second wild card spot. That was good.

The next two games weren’t. On Saturday, the Phils took a 3-0 lead after the third inning off five hits. A good start. But they scored zero runs off a single hit for the remainder of the game. A bad finish! Plus, Zach Eflin was unable to get out of the fourth inning after giving up three runs off seven hits and Nick Pivetta lost the lead by allowing two runs off three hits in an inning and a third as the Phillies lost 5-3.

Sunday also wasn’t good. The offense only scored two runs off four hits with both of the RBIs coming from Jean Segura. Bryce Harper left the game due to dehydration in the sixth, and the pitching couldn’t help as Jared Hughes gave up a Austin Hedges homer in the seventh as the Padres won 3-2 to take the series.

With the two losses, the Phils are once again two games back of the Cubs for the second wild card. They’re now tied with the Brewers and the Mets in that race, with the Giants a game and a half behind that group. That ain’t good.

And neither is the remainder of their schedule. 25 of the team’s 38 games are against opponents who are currently in the playoffs or are in playoff contention. September has a 20-game stretch that includes the Mets, Braves, Red Sox, Indians, and Nationals. Yikes.

Speaking of Boston, the Phils are off today but have a short two-game series up at Fenway beginning tomorrow night. Aaron Nola’s on the mound.

In injury news, Roman Quinn went on the 10-day injured list with a right groin strain suffered in Friday night’s win. And David Robertson (remember him?) had Tommy John surgery on Thursday and he’ll probably miss all of 2020.

The Roundup:

After the monster known as the preseason took another backup Eagles quarterback out of action due to a concussion, the Birds successfully lured ESPN analyst Josh McCown out of retirement and gave him a nice $2 million deal with incentives to be their backup quarterback. Looks like he’ll probably be the primary backup with Nate Sudfeld as the third string guy again. And perhaps another mentor. The team cut Braxton Miller to make room for McCown.

The team made a few more roster moves, signing offensive tackle Brett Toth out of Army after getting a military waiver and releasing injured linebacker Paul Worrilow.

The Birds and having a pair of joint practices with the Ravens beginning this afternoon. The two teams play Thursday night at the Linc.

The Sixers are reportedly hiring San Antonio’s Lorena Torres Ronda as their Performance Director in their revamped sports science department. They’ll also reportedly hire Drew Jones as a player development coach.

The Union fell to the Chicago Fire 2-0 on Saturday. Philly had chances in the second half, but could not convert. Up next is a three-match home stand beginning Saturday against D.C. United.

In other sports news, Raiders GM Mike Mayock says it’s time for Antonio Brown to be “all-in or all-out.”

Could a Dwight Howard-Lakers reunion be in the mix?

Former NFL and Texas Longhorns running back Cedric Benson as well as longtime sportscaster Jack Whitaker both died over the weekend.

In the news, a fallen tree injured nine people at a Buck County swim club as a result of a lightning strike.

Alligators are all over Florida now.