‘It just wasn't good': Walker's struggles continue in KC as Phillies drop series opener

KANSAS CITY — It’s not often the Phillies find themselves in Kansas City. 

The last time they made their way to Missouri in the regular season was 1,930 days ago — May 12, 2019. 

Andrew McCutchen was leading off and the bottom of the lineup consisted of Odubel Herrera, Cesar Hernandez, Maikel Franco and Nick Williams. Gabe Kapler was the manager. It was a .500 season. There was no hope or expectations for the club back then. 

Times have certainly changed. 

From the jump this season, the Phillies have drilled the “World Series or bust” mentality into their minds. They got off to one of the hottest starts in club history, had a franchise-best eight All-Stars, had the most lethal combination in the league between their starting rotation and bullpen arms, every night they went out and found new ways to win games … but it feels like everything is fading. 

Fast. 

And it continued Friday night at Kauffman Stadium. 

Taijuan Walker crumbled and put the Phillies in a rut that was too big to dig themselves out of. They dropped the series opener against the Royals, 7-2, have lost four of their last five, and at best, can return home with a .500 record from the road trip if they win the next two.

In his third start since returning from the injured list, Walker wrapped his night early after the third inning and 78 pitches, 47 for strikes. He now has a 6.26 ERA with a 1.58 WHIP. 

The right handed pitcher gave up eight hits and six runs the two times through the Royals’ order. Friday also marked the fifth time this season Walker allowed multiple home runs in a start. 

"It just wasn't good," Walker said following the game. "Not throwing the right pitches and the right counts, getting behind in counts still, giving up the home run ball.

"It just hasn't been good lately. Especially, you know, I want to help the team as much as possible. I know obviously I feel like we're not playing great, but that would be nice for myself to be able to pick the team up and I just haven't really done that. So, it's frustrating."

We keep saying they’ll figure it out. They’ve given us no reason to doubt they will. The club has held the top spot in the NL East since May 3, after all. 

But Kyle Schwarber’s three-home run night in Los Angeles was supposed to be the turning point. 

Schwarber’s grand slam against the Marlins was supposed to be the turning point. 

Weston Wilson hitting for the cycle against the Nationals was supposed to be the turning point. 

Christopher Sanchez’s one-run complete game against the Nationals was supposed to be the turning point.

At some point you have to stop and think … did they miss the turn? 

No one wants to see this team fail — as a whole or individually. You want the stars to show up for heroic moments, you want the rookies to earn that spot in the lineup, you want the players who have struggled to shift gears and find something that works for them. They want that, too.

Brandon Marsh did not have a good series against the Braves. Although he drove in the game-winning run with a sacrifice fly Wednesday, Marsh struck out five times and only made it on base once with a walk. It was reassuring to see him drive in a run during his first at-bat of the new series and get an extra base hit in the ninth.

"I thought it was good" manager Rob Thomson said on Marsh's approach. "He used the field, squared the ball up I think three times, especially the last one ... He stayed balanced, head didn't move, used the field."

Austin Hays returned after two weeks on the injured list due to a left hamstring strain. With his first plate appearance in just his 11th game with the Phillies, he singled on a base hit to left. 

J.T. Realmuto had a two-hit night with a run scored. Bryce Harper had his first extra base hit in 10 days. Nick Castellanos had a pair of singles. Alec Bohm and Bryson Stott each had a base hit.

 The Phillies were able to tack on a pair of runs in the eighth inning, where Harper scored on a wild pitch by Kris Bubic, Bohm on a Stott sacrifice fly.

"I was encouraged by our bats tonight," Thomson said. "I thought they were a lot better. I didn't think we chased as much, not nearly as much as last night. We used the entire field, we moved runners."

It just wasn't enough.

34 games remain this season and that ticking clock is starting to get louder by the day.

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