Well, the honeymoon phase for Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Michael Lorenzen has pretty much burned to the ground.

After tossing eight solid innings in his Phillies’ debut against the Marlins and a no-hitter on August 9th against the Washington Nationals, Lorenzen has crashed and burned over his last few outings. 

In 4 starts since his no-hitter, Michael Lorenzen is 1-2 with an 8.14 ERA

Lorenzen has allowed 32 hits, 22 runs (19 earned), nine walks and six home runs in 21 innings. He has struck out just 11 during that span.

Last night, he allowed seven runs (six earned) in six miserable innings of work as the Phillies dropped game two in their three game set against the Padres, 8-0. 

None of the above is good news, with the Phillies, desperately in search of some consistency behind Zack Wheeler as they head into the playoffs. 

Get an Official Philadelphia Phillies Jersey for $50 from PointsBet & Fanatics

PointsBet is running a promotion with Fanatics, where new users who sign up for a PointsBet account will get a $150 store credit to use on Fanatics to buy official Phillies gear.

Basically, you sign up and wager $50 on PointsBet and they will give you $150 to spend on Fanatics.

I know it’s marketed as an NFL promotion, but the store credit can be used on ANYTHING.

All you have to do is click this link and register for a PointsBet Sportsbook account.

Hit your bet? Win a ton of money and get $150 from Fanatics. Lose your bet? Doesn’t matter.

Either way, you’ll still get $150 to spend on some fresh Phillies gear before the start of the 2023 postseason. Get ready. Red October is coming.

PointsBet & Fanatics: $50 Phillies Jersey Offer

New customers who place a wager of $50+ receive a $150 credit for Fanatics

• Sign up for a new PointsBet account
• Make a first-time deposit
• Place $50 or more wager
• Receive $150 store credit on Fanatics

Claim your $150 Fanatics credit bets here >>

Ya Gotta Believe in Nola, Walker, and/or Suarez

I do believe that Aaron Nola, Taijuan Walker, and Ranger Suarez will be able to figure things out over the final month and at least two of them will eliminate everyone’s doubts regarding the postseason rotation.

That needs to happen or else the Phillies are in trouble. Period. 

The Phillies offense went ice cold last night against Padres’ starter Pedro Avila. He held them to just two hits while walking six and striking out one. 

On the night, the Phillies notched just three total hits. 

• Brandon Marsh: 1-3
• Jake Cave: 1-2 
• Edmundo Sosa: 1-2

Just a brutal game last night.

Best if we all just move forward and focus on today’s series finale, with Zack Wheeler taking the bump against Michael Wacha. 

Wacha has posted an 11-2 record with a 2.85 ERA in 107.1 innings pitched this season. As for Wheeler, he’s 10-6 with a 3.62 ERA in 164 innings pitched. 

Phillies Hunt for Red October 

The Phillies hold a 1.5 game lead over the Chicago Cubs for the No. 1 spot in the National League Wild Card. They are 4.5 games ahead of the Reds, 5 games ahead of the Marlins, and 5.5 games in front of the D-Backs.

First pitch today is at 4:05PM out in San Diego. The Phillies will have off tomorrow before opening up a weekend series against the Miami Marlins on Friday at Citizens Bank Park.

Games Remaining: at SD (1), vs. MIA (3), vs. ATL (4), at STL (3), at ATL (4), vs. NYM (4), vs. PIT (3), at NYM (3)

Join The Chase