You can’t win if you can’t score, and since the Phillies failed to score in a quiet 2-0 loss to the Mets Tuesday night, the rest of the details are secondary.

Brandon Nimmo launched a fifth-inning solo shot that provided the winning run, while the Phillies’ defense gift-wrapped a late insurance run that helped ensure there would be no rally this time around.

Doesn’t get much more straightforward than that, so let’s skip the window dressing and jump right into some observations.

Offense Goes Quite Again

A night after a memorable five-run outburst to stun the Mets in the series opener, the Phillies were held scoreless while collecting just five hits. While the lineup didn’t generate consistent scoring pressure, it did put a runner in scoring position with less than two outs three different times. On all three occasions, however, the Phillies failed to plate a run, finishing the night 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position.

The two most egregious misses came in the sixth and seventh innings.


In the sixth inning, Johan Camargo was left stranded at second base following a Simon Muzziotti sacrifice bunt when Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto failed to bring him home. An inning later, a Nick Castellanos one-out double was wasted when Rhys Hoskins and Didi Gregorius each went down on strikes.

In fairness to Hoskins, his came on a pitch out of the zone.

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The Phillies would get one last shot in the ninth inning when they put two runners aboard with two outs, but Hoskins again failed to deliver the key blow.

Just five games into the season, it would be borderline ridiculous to critique what still figures to be one of the game’s best lineups, but it has been a bit of a quiet go of it for the Phillies over their last three games.

If you’re looking for some sharp criticism, let’s check back at the end of the month.

Still, not only have they managed just six total runs since Sunday afternoon, they’ve scored in just two of 26 innings while going a brutal 1-for-14 with runners in scoring position.

That’s not going to play.

Here You Go, Enjoy

Of course, when the bats go silent, mistakes are magnified — mistakes like a Phillies’ failed double play attempt that led to the Mets’ second run of the night.

It appeared a leadoff walk in the eighth inning to Nimmo would be quickly erased when Starling Marte bounced a dead double play ball to third, but Johan Camargo’s feed took second baseman Bryson Stott’s momentum away from the turn.

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Not a terrible feed, but Stott stumbled nonetheless, allowing Marte to reach first safely. Marte would then swipe second before scoring on an RBI single off the bat of Francisco Lindor.

Amazing how it goes, right? Like clockwork. Give a team an extra out like that, and it almost always seems to lead to a run — and the way the Phillies’ lineup is going at the moment, every run matters.

Wheeler Effective Despite Velo Drop

Most of the concern over Zack Wheeler’s briefly delayed debut should be quelled following a stellar 4 2/3 innings of work in which he yielded just a pair of hits and one earned run.

He battled through a rocky 27-pitch first inning to leave the bases loaded after hitting a pair of batters and walking another. Wheeler would then rebound to record 11 more outs with just 38 additional pitches before Nimmo ended his outing with a solo blast.

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After the game, Phillies manager Joe Girardi said the initial plan was to end Wheeler’s night with James McCann, but after the first two outs of the inning were recorded on just two pitches, he decided to press forward with his starter.

Obviously, the decision proved costly.

If there’s any worry following the debut of the 2021 National League Cy Young Award runner-up, it’s probably regarding his velocity.

Wheeler averaged 97.2 mph a season ago with his four-seam fastball, but he averaged just 95 mph with the 24 fastballs he threw against the Mets, according to MLB Statcast.

That said, he was sitting 95-96+ mph through two innings before dipping to 93-94 for the remainder of his start. As a point of comparison, Wheeler debuted against Atlanta last season averaging 97.7 mph with his fastball.

While he was down a tick during his first turn through the rotation, Wheeler is still ramping up his arm strength, as Girardi pointed out following the game.

“This is really like his third start of spring training,” he said.

If Wheeler gets into his fourth and fifth starts of the season with the velo dip still in place, then it’s worth a discussion. Until then, there’s probably not much to sweat.

Those Damn Phillies Fans

Alec Bohm tried to close the book on both a three-error meltdown and his unfortunate lip reading incident Monday night by owning up to his comments following the game.

His act of accountability was the right way to play it, and tonight, the fans let him know it by welcoming him with loud cheers during his eighth-inning pinch-hit appearance.

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Those damn Philly sports fans, man. Classless.