Apr 29, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Washington Nationals pitcher Kyle Finnegan (67) jumps over Philadelphia Phillies second base Bryson Stott (5) after he scored the winning run on a wild pitch during the ninth inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
A friend of mine was celebrating his 44th birthday at the Phillies 7-6 victory over the Washington Nationals on Tuesday.
When Bryson Stott slid across home plate to seal the victory on a walk off wild pitch, he messaged me that it wasn't a bad way to celebrate a birthday.
Agree. But I could see him in his seat below me in the press box. Let's just say he wasn't always in a celebratory mood.
My youngest son was also at the game. He messaged me continually throughout. The texts ranged from jubilant to spitting venom and back again.
The last text was, "I lost my voice tonight."
Son, it's still April.
But that's what has happened with the Phillies this month. They have a chance to wrap the month with a win on Wednesday and be 17-13 - which would be a pretty good record for a team heading into May.
And yet, if you are a fan, it feels like every game is agonizing. Fans are debating between enjoying baseball and a root canal.
The only way to watch the Philadelphia Phillies bullpen without going insane pic.twitter.com/FJocN2vQel
Expectations are so high for this team - and deservedly so - after bitter October disappointment in each of the past three years.
Couple that with the third-highest payroll in the sport and a curious decision to run it back with 21 of the same players from a season ago, and, well, of course there's going to be a higher standard to be reached in Philadelphia.
But every game seems like the team is trying collectively to solve the New York Times Saturday crossword.
It's a challenge. It's mentally draining - even if there is success.
And that's because the Phillies tend to put themselves in these situations. There are no easy wins. There are no blowout losses.
wheeeeeeeee! pic.twitter.com/j6EoIBG2dL
Sure, a couple of games have had final scores that look comfortable for the winner, but go back and review those games and you'll find that they were almost all closer than that final score would suggest.
The fan frustration is understandable. It shouldn't be a slog. It shouldn't seem this difficult game in and game out. Yes, there will be nights when it has to play out this way, but it shouldn't be the norm.
The Phillies are one of the haves in a sport with plenty of have nots. It shouldn't be this torturous.
But maybe that's what the Phillies are. If so, credit to them for finding their way through the muck to pull out more wins than losses, but at the same time, shame on them for not recognizing that this is what they are and trying to put themselves in a better position so this wasn't the consistent outcome.
And yes, in that sense, I'm referring mostly to the team's executives, but some of it falls on the players themselves.
Lowe and inside ... CRUSHED
Nathaniel Lowe gives the @Nationals the lead! pic.twitter.com/ZIbkpe30ff
Trea Turner has had a strong couple of games. He has had seven hits in the last two games - including four on Tuesday - to raise his batting average to .290. But he also was in the middle of a defensive meltdown that resulted in one defensive misstep that nearly cost the team dearly, and an error an inning later that did.
It was the full Turner experience in one game.
Johan Rojas had two hits including a home run.
"Rojas had a great night tonight," Phillies manager Rob Thomson said.
Um, did he?
The home run was great, sure. And the single was a well-hit ball too. But, he was a (mis?)adventure everywhere else.
He badly misplayed two balls in centerfield. The first one resulted in a triple for C.J. Abrams that starter Zack Wheeler was able to strand on third.
The second resulted in a double that was part of another bullpen meltdown inning that wouldn't have happened had not Rojas and Turner had their gaffes on back-to-back plays.
He also completely ran through a stop sign at third base and was fortunate to score the run on the play because the cutoff man hesitated on his throw home.
Since taking over as the full time starter when Brandon Marsh was injured a dozen games ago, Rojas has been surprisingly productive at the plate - as long as he was swinging the bat.
In those 12 games, he is hitting .306, which is superb for a 9-hole hitter.
But he's on the roster for speed and defense. He's botched a few balls in center - and not just on Tuesday - he's struggled again with bunting, and you never know what you're going to get from him baserunning.
Johan Rojas being a good hitter and a bad fielder was not on the bingo card for this season
"I'm not concerned," Thomson said when pressed about Rojas' decision-making. "He needs to keep it simple. He needs to make the plays he's supposed to make. But I'm not concerned. He's a great defender."
Rojas also drove in the tying run Tuesday in the ninth inning with a sacrifice fly, but if we're being honest, it was a shallow fly ball to right field and Alec Bohm should have been thrown out by a mile, only Washington catcher Keibert Ruiz couldn't handle a throw from right fielder Dylan Crews, and it allowed Bohm to score.
Then there's Orion Kerkering, who while a victim of his defense failing him last night, still delivered a bad pitch to Nathaniel Lowe that resulted in a three-run homer and nearly cost the Phillies the ball game.
Kerkering has been wildly ineffective lately. In his last five outings he's allowed nine runs (six earned) on eight hits and three walks - that's in 4 1/3 innings.
That's more runs allowed than Jordan Romano in his last five outings, and one of those for Romano was the six-run black eye against the Marlins that nearly blew an 11-4 lead in the ninth inning.
"I'll probably sit down with him (Wednesday)," Thomson said. "But tonight's not the time."
The Phillies bullpen has been the biggest problem thus far this season. The only guys that are truly trustworthy at the moment are Matt Strahm and Jose Alvarado, and they each had their hurdles to traverse on Tuesday.
Strahm gave up a double to Abrams to allow Washington's second run to score before striking out James Wood to get out of a dicey seventh inning. Alvarado followed in the eighth by loading the bases with no outs before striking out three straight batters to come away unscathed.
🗣 JOSÉ, JOSÉ, JOSÉ, JOSÉ pic.twitter.com/ctj343hmol
But the Phillies keep playing with fire with two reliable relievers being used a lot and six guys who you have to hold your breath with when they come into the game.
The Phillies only won Tuesday because Washington's bullpen is the only one in the league off to a worse start than the Phillies and the Nationals execution on defense was a hair more sloppy than the Phillies.
But a win is a win. You take them any way you can get them. And if they win again Wednesday, that'll be a four-game winning streak, a .567 winning percentage and a bit of momentum heading into May.
All of that would be great - although it doesn't mean you have to feel good about it.
