PHILADELPHIA \u2014 Before the 19th game of this season, the Phillies had a plan. Rather than use an opener to mitigate Taijuan Walker\u2019s first-inning nightmares or replace him altogether in the rotation, they had him throw a pregame bullpen session with more intensity. They reduced the time between his final throw in the bullpen and when he stepped onto the Citizens Bank Park mound. Walker even changed his warmup music to Montell Jordan\u2019s classic hit \u201cThis Is How We Do It.\u201d<\/p>\n
Four minutes after his first pitch, the Atlanta Braves had loaded the bases with no outs. They scored two runs just nine minutes into the game. They had seven runs in a mere 36 minutes.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving the offense down 7-0, it\u2019s not easy to ask them to climb back in,\u201d Walker said. \u201cSo I\u2019m just not doing my part there and not giving them a chance.\u201d<\/p>\n
It ended Braves 9, Phillies 0 \u2014 and the Phillies have officially lost the benefit of the doubt after an offseason that did not enact much change. The Phillies (8-11) are three games under .500 for the first time since June 6, 2023. They have the worst run differential in the National League (minus-34). They have been reduced to background noise in April. The loudest cheers Friday night were for Gritty, who danced on the dugout during the seventh-inning stretch.<\/p>\n
The Phillies have lost three consecutive games by six or more runs for the first time since 2018. It\u2019s the first time since 1989 (and only second time since 1947) that they\u2019ve lost three straight at home by that margin. They have lost five of their first 19 games by six runs or more for the first time since 1986. It\u2019s the first time they have allowed nine runs in three straight home games since 1973.<\/p>\n
The worst part for many of the 43,048 people in attendance Friday night was that their game ticket was also their concert ticket; they had to endure nine innings of Phillies baseball to see Jordan Davis perform afterward.<\/p>\n
Losing is one thing. Three straight uncompetitive games at Citizens Bank Park is another.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s frustrating,\u201d Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. \u201cWe\u2019re not used to doing that, especially in this ballpark. So we got to turn this thing around someway, somehow.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Bryce](\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/athletic\/uploads\/wp\/2026\/04\/17234208\/GettyImages-2271855279-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\n\n Bryce Harper went 3-for-4, but the offense was shut out. The Phillies have the worst run differential in the National League. (Emilee Chinn \/ Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n It is a tough look right now. If Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber or Trea Turner don\u2019t do anything, the rest of the lineup looks far too beatable. So it is unfair to pin all of this on Walker. He is an easy target. But he might be collateral damage for this lackluster Phillies start.<\/p>\n Thomson committed to Walker pitching again on Wednesday at Wrigley Field. Sort of. Maybe.<\/p>\n \u201cWe haven\u2019t \u2026 yeah,\u201d Thomson said. \u201cAs of now, yeah.\u201d<\/p>\n Why?<\/p>\n \u201cWe haven\u2019t discussed anything else,\u201d Thomson said.<\/p>\n About 10 minutes after the manager finished his postgame interview with reporters, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski and general manager Preston Mattingly visited Thomson\u2019s office. The front office might have taken that opportunity to discuss Walker\u2019s future. His 9.16 ERA is the highest through the first four starts by a Phillies pitcher who made the opening rotation since Paul Byrd (10.19) in 2000.<\/p>\n This is not a long-term problem; Zack Wheeler will return to the rotation sometime next weekend. He will make one more minor-league start, Sunday at Double-A Reading. The Phillies will not alter that plan.<\/p>\n By the second inning, fans chanted, \u201cWe want Wheeler!\u201d They\u2019ll see him. Just not yet.<\/p>\n The Phillies look lifeless; that\u2019ll happen when they allow a ton of runs and don\u2019t score.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s always a sense of urgency,\u201d Schwarber said. \u201cIt\u2019s on a daily basis. It doesn\u2019t matter if you\u2019re on a 20-game winning streak or a 20-game losing streak. There\u2019s always a sense of urgency to go out there and win a baseball game. So that\u2019s the mindset that we always have. And you could be hitting .400, there\u2019s a sense of urgency because there\u2019s another game tomorrow. And the same thing if you\u2019re hitting .100. Always a sense of urgency. There\u2019s a game tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n If there is truly a sense of urgency, then Walker\u2019s place on the roster would be subject to debate. He\u2019s allowed 11 first-inning runs this season. That is more than 16 teams have allowed this season. His outings suck the energy from games.<\/p>\n This is not a new phenomenon. Walker has an 8.40 ERA in the first inning since signing a four-year, $72 million deal with the Phillies in 2023. No pitcher in MLB has permitted more first-inning earned runs (66) than Walker has since 2023.\u00a0 And there are 66 pitchers who have made more starts than him in that span.<\/p>\n Walker was throwing harder in Friday\u2019s first inning. He could not command it.<\/p>\n \u201cI wanted to come out firing; maybe I was overthrowing a little bit,\u201d Walker said. \u201cA little erratic with everything. I just wasn\u2019t too aggressive in the zone. The walks right now, I feel like they\u2019ve been killing me and just extending the innings.\u201d<\/p>\n When Walker is bumped from the rotation, whether it\u2019s before or after Wheeler returns, it is difficult to see where he fits on this roster. The Phillies could carry him as the most expensive long reliever in baseball. But if he cannot pitch effectively in the first inning of outings, his value out of the bullpen is infinitesimal.<\/p>\n To Walker\u2019s credit, he looked like a sunk cost in August 2024 and recovered to give the Phillies 123 2\/3 innings of slightly above-average pitching in 2025. The Phillies might have been reluctant to eat more than $36 million by cutting ties with Walker near the end of the 2024 season. Now, they owe him less than $18 million. It\u2019s more palatable \u2014 if they choose that path.<\/p>\n The Phillies are not blessed with robust rotation depth, but it\u2019s becoming harder to argue that whatever they have in reserve is not better than Walker. It is rather bleak, though.<\/p>\n Alan Rangel has a 1.66 ERA in four starts at Triple-A Lehigh Valley, but he\u2019s walked too many batters. Jean Cabrera, also on the 40-man roster, has an 8.03 ERA in his first three starts. Veterans Bryse Wilson and Tucker Davidson have struggled. Connor Gillispie, signed to a minor-league deal during spring training, had not allowed a run in 13 innings for Lehigh Valley \u2014 but he surrendered seven runs in a start Friday night against St. Paul.<\/p>\n The Phillies could have signed the guy they faced Friday night, Mart\u00edn P\u00e9rez, because Atlanta put him on waivers earlier in the week. The Braves made a bet that no one would absorb the veteran lefty\u2019s $3.5 million contract. They were right. P\u00e9rez re-signed with the Braves, rejoined them on Friday, then fired six scoreless innings against the Phillies.<\/p>\n Even worse: A lefty named Jos\u00e9 Suarez, who lugged an 8.64 ERA into Friday\u2019s game, followed P\u00e9rez with three scoreless innings. The Phillies, as a team, are now hitting .179\/.280\/.275 against left-handed pitching.<\/p>\n They will face Chris Sale, one of the best lefties in the sport, on Saturday night. Maybe they won\u2019t be blown out.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think that the score should really dictate the way that we try to go about our at-bats,\u201d Schwarber said, \u201cand the way we try and go out and compete.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n