Phillies drop fifth straight as Cubs blank them 4-0 in Chicago

Another day, another Philadelphia Phillies no-show.

After a two-hour rain delay set the tone for a miserable Friday at Wrigley Field, the Phillies rolled in and got flattened by the Cubs, 4-0.

It was Philly’s fifth straight loss and second straight shutout, because why make life easy?

Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki led the charge for Chicago, each smacking two doubles off a Phillies pitching staff that just couldn’t keep up. Jon Berti chipped in with two hits and an RBI, and Pete Crow-Armstrong and Nico Hoerner each drove in a run for good measure. The Cubs looked like a first-place team — the Phillies looked like they needed a nap.

Colin Rea, who might not be a household name outside of the greater Chicagoland area, diced up the Phils for five innings of three-hit, shutout ball.

He struck out seven and walked two, but honestly could’ve pitched with one hand tied behind his back. Philly’s offense never even made him sweat.

Meanwhile, Taijuan Walker struggled again, tossing 86 pitches in just three innings. He gave up six hits and two runs before getting yanked. At this point, you just hope Walker’s arm doesn’t fall off before June.

The bullpen wasn’t much better. Every time the Phillies tried to start a rally — and by “rally,” I mean a single or a walk — the Cubs bullpen immediately slammed the door shut.

A highlight? In the seventh, after a JT Realmuto infield single and an Alec Bohm walk, the Phillies had a chance to at least pretend to threaten. Brad Keller came in, fanned Cal Stevenson, got Bryson Stott to pop out, and watched Dansby Swanson make a Gold Glove-caliber play to rob Trea Turner up the middle.

Zero runs. Zero vibes. Same old story.

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Phillies Game Notes:

The Phillies have been held scoreless in 29 of their last 35 innings. You don’t need a Harvard degree to know that’s… not ideal.

That bottom of the seventh rally killer. If the Phillies couldn’t scratch across a run with Realmuto, Bohm, Turner, and a little bit of momentum, they weren’t scoring at all.

Phillies starters are getting absolutely shelled lately, and the offense isn’t backing them up.

Philadelphia has five hits or fewer in four of their last six games.

Up Next:

The Phillies will try (key word: try) to snap the skid Saturday when Jesús Luzardo (2-0, 2.08 ERA) faces off against Cubs rookie Ben Brown (2-1, 4.57 ERA). If they don’t get it together soon, forget catching the Mets — they’ll be fighting just to stay ahead of the Nationals.

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