The Phillies have now lost nine straight after being swept at Wrigley for the first time since 1973

The losing streak is at nine. The Phillies are 8-17. They just got swept in a four-game series at Wrigley Field for the first time since 1973.

Kyle Schwarber was standing at the podium after an 8-7 extra innings loss telling reporters this was a step in the right direction.

Kyle, I love you. I will defend you until the day I die but if this is a step in the right direction then we’ve been walking backwards for a month.

The Phillies rallied from a 6-2 deficit in the late innings. They tied the game in the eighth on a pinch-hit single from Edmundo Sosa. They tied it again in the ninth on a pinch-hit homer from Adolis Garcia.

All tied up after a pinch-hit homer! pic.twitter.com/hU6apVzZpR

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) April 23, 2026

They showed fight. They showed energy. They had runners on the corners with nobody out in the ninth and couldn’t push the go-ahead run across. Then they lost in the 10th when Dansby Swanson singled in the winning run off Tanner Banks. Thirteen losses in the last 15 games. The worst record in the National League.

You want to talk about a step in the right direction? A step in the right direction is winning the game you just came back in twice. A step in the right direction is not blowing a tie game in the bottom of the eighth after your bullpen gives up a leadoff homer to Seiya Suzuki, his third bomb of the series.

A step in the right direction is Brandon Marsh not taking a third strike with the tying run at third base to end the ninth inning. Coming back and still losing is not progress. It’s a more painful version of the same result.

Even Cristopher Sanchez Got Rocked

This is the part that should genuinely concern everyone. Sanchez was the runner-up for the National League Cy Young last year. He was the one pitcher on this staff you could count on every fifth day. Thursday he got tagged for 12 hits and six runs in 5 1/3 innings. Twelve hits ties his career high.

He walked two and struck out just four. Michael Busch crushed a three-run homer off a 95 mph sinker that was right down the middle. Ian Happ took an 0-2 slider over everything in left field.

Over his last four starts, Sanchez has given up 37 hits. The starting staff entered Thursday ranked 28th in the majors with a 5.37 ERA. Last year they were second at 3.53. When your Cy Young runner-up is getting rocked at Wrigley Field and your starters are 28th in the league in ERA, you don’t have a pitching problem. You have a crisis.

Phillies Upcoming Schedule Isn’t Great Either…

The Phillies head to Atlanta for a weekend series starting Friday night. The Braves have won eight of their last nine and 12 of their last 15. They’re 9 1/2 games ahead of the Phillies in the NL East. Atlanta is playing like a juggernaut right now and the Phillies are walking in on a nine-game losing streak with a roster that can’t hit, can’t pitch, and can’t close out games they fight their way back into.

Andrew Painter gets the ball Friday night. Zack Wheeler makes his return Saturday. Wheeler coming back is the one legitimate reason to have any hope right now. But one pitcher can’t fix an offense that has been among the worst in baseball for three weeks.

One pitcher can’t fix a team that goes 0-for-everything with runners in scoring position every night. One pitcher can’t fix the fact that this team has scored more than four runs exactly once during this entire losing streak.

Brandon Marsh Was Great and It Didn’t Matter

Two solo homers and an RBI single from Marsh on Thursday. He carried this offense for most of the game and it still wasn’t enough. Then he took a called third strike with the tying run at third in the ninth. That at-bat is going to haunt him because it’s the difference between this being a comeback win and another loss. Marsh has been one of the few hitters who has actually competed during this stretch and even he couldn’t deliver in the biggest moment.

Schwarber wants to find the silver lining.

Thomson wants to point to the fight. I respect both of them for trying to hold this clubhouse together. But the reality is the Phillies are 8-17 and the positive energy from a comeback that didn’t result in a win is not going to pay the bills.

This team needs to start winning games. Not almost winning games. Not moral victory games. Actual wins. Because 9 1/2 games back of Atlanta with the way both teams are trending right now is starting to look like a canyon that can’t be closed.

Wheeler comes back Saturday. The cavalry is arriving. But the Phillies need to stop the bleeding before then or it might not matter.

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