Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse for the Philadelphia Phillies, everything seemed to have came crashing down at Citizens Bank Park yesterday evening before game one of a four game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, the worst team in the National League.

In what was likely the “nail in the coffin” for the 2021 Phillies, Rhys Hoskins spoke with the media and announced that he will have season ending surgery early next week. Zach Eflin, who was supposed to take the mound for the first time since July 16th, hurt himself during warmups and was a late scratch to the lineup card. The Phillies, would then go on to lose to the Arizona Diamondbacks by a score of 8-2.

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Yes, I know they scored five runs in the ninth inning, but I’m not willing to give those to the Phillies, who really don’t deserve any favors right now. All seven of the Phillies runs were unearned. The D-Backs made three errors in the game and some how, some way, the Phillies still lost to the worst team in the National League for the fourth time in the last 10 days.

The Phillies as a team, have taken a free fall out of first place in the NL East, and are now 5.5 games behind the leading Atlanta Braves, a team that is 8-2 over their last 10 games. The Phillies on the other hand, are 2-8 over their last 10 games and have fallen below .500 for the first time since August 1st.

In what was supposed to be a crucial six game home stand for the Phillies, has now turned into a fight to at least make it a .500 home stand before hitting the road to face the Nationals and Marlins heading into September. Phillies fans are roughly a month away from extending their postseason drought to 10 years.

Tonight, Aaron Nola will take the mound against Diamondbacks pitcher Taylor Widener.

Mandatory Credit: Getty Images