97.5 The Fanatic Phillies Notebook: The Sweep That Felt Too Familiar

The New York Mets pulled ahead to a five-game lead in the National League East with a three-game series sweep over the Philadelphia Phillies.

The overwhelmingly tense mood that defined the Phillies during the 2024 NLDS repeated itself at Citi Field, and a slumping team that’s 1-3-1 in their last five series has noticeable weaknesses with no clear solution.

Mark Vientos and Francisco Lindor led an eighth inning rally in Game 1 of the NLDS that shifted the euphoria of Red October into tension throughout Citizens Bank Park.

The Phillies entered the 2024 season decided on a World Series championship as their only acceptable outcome. The thought of an early playoff exit ratcheted up the pressure to unforeseen levels in a 1-0 series hole.

That pressure has carried into 2025 for a veteran core group with a shrinking window of championship contention. The intangible concept was never more obvious than during a rough three-game stretch that eerily resembled the final two games of the NLDS.

The Phillies desperately needed the big hit that never came as their hopes slowly vanished. They threatened with 11 hits (all singles) in the series finale without an extra-base momentum shifter that could’ve led to a collective sigh of relief.

When Juan Soto threw out Nick Castellanos to finish the eighth inning, nobody at Citi Field doubted that the Mets had the upper hand over the Phillies despite the tie score. The close play at home plate could’ve gone either way -- but like many things in 2025-- it didn't go the Phillies' way.

Carlos Estevez let up a grand slam to Lindor that felt utterly inevitable in the clinching Game 4 of the NLDS, and Jose Ruiz let Lindor put this week's first game out of the Phillies’ reach with a three-run homer in the seventh inning of the series opener.

Rob Thomson repeatedly called his team fighters in the opening weeks of the season. They had beaten opposing bullpens to steal games late, and they survived their own bullpen issues for an impressive series rubber match win against the spectacle Los Angeles Dodgers.

However, they must fight through some tough breaks that Thomson attributed to the unpredictability of the baseball gods after the disappointing sweep.

The Phillies have fallen behind in the division race with plenty of runway left. The tension makes it hard to focus on positive takeaways like a 10-game hitting streak for Alec Bohm and a .298 batting average for Bryson Stott.

They're facing a serious gut check. The constant pressure of World Series expectations makes it difficult to identify progress when regular-season wins by simple definition can’t amount to the ultimate goal.

How will Rob Thomson loosen the tension at one of the most difficult points of his career as a manager?

The reshaped bullpen looks thin after Dave Dombrowski made unpopular decisions to let Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Estevez walk away during the offseason. The Phillies rank 29th of 30 MLB teams with a 5.55 bullpen ERA.

While the unit has collectively underperformed, their more specific flaw has to do with handedness. 

Jose Alvarado has emerged as the bullpen's top high-leverage arm with Matt Strahm as the unquestioned second option. While Tanner Banks is unlikely to pitch high-leverage playoff innings, the veteran lefty has performed serviceably with a 3.38 ERA in 10 games this season.

The three lefties aren't the problem. It's the right-handers.

Jordan Romano entered Saturday’s game with a seven-run lead, but the free agent acquisition ultimately handed the ball to Alvarado after the Marlins tagged him for six earned runs in ⅔ of an inning. He also took the loss for the Phillies in the finale of the Mets series.

Orion Kerkering gave Dombrowski the confidence to let Hoffman and Estevez go with the promise of a further breakout. The Phillies believe in their top homegrown reliever. He grades extraordinarily well in the STUFF+ metric that’s become an important emphasis in MLB organizations. The advanced data encourages Kerkering to lean on his sweeper (or slider) most often.

However, he made a mistake with a sweeper that Javier Sanoja sent into the stands in the most devastating moment of a blown series finale against the Marlins on Easter Sunday. He also allowed a two-run single to Luis Torrens on a sweeper against the Mets in his next appearance.

Jose Ruiz hasn’t taken the step that Dombrowski might’ve hoped for when he entered the season with a thinner group of righties. While his 6.75 ERA and 1.63 WHIP are concerning, Ricky Bottalico also pointed to Ruiz’s struggles with inherited runners that don’t factor into his ERA.

Carlos Hernandez hasn’t executed pitches with the control needed for a major league reliever. He’s walked seven batters in seven appearances with the Phillies in 2025. 

Ranger Suarez could return in the next trip through the starting rotation. The resulting roster shuffle could push righty Taijuan Walker to the bullpen and Hernandez out of the picture.

Joe Ross hasn’t been a lights out stopper that’ll reverse the unit’s ugly collective numbers. However, he recovered from a bad outing against the San Francisco Giants for consecutive scoreless multi-inning appearances.

The veteran swingman worked his way into high-leverage innings for the Milwaukee Brewers in the playoffs last season. He’s one of Thomson’s best immediate right-handed options. 

Are Philadelphia fans too harshly criticizing a World Series caliber roster coming off three consecutive playoff appearances that's hovering above .500?

The national perspective usually levels the intensity of the most passionate fan base in sports during a losing stretch.

ESPN's Buster Olney addressed Mike Missanelli’s concerns about “blemishes that could turn into warts” for the 2025 Phillies. Olney told Phillies fans what they already know about a starting rotation locked and loaded to lead them to playoff contention.

He also mentioned a lineup with such an established track record as a potential challenge in a short playoff series against the Dodgers.

Olney reiterated a sentiment about the landscape of the 2025 MLB season that he’s commonly shared on Baseball Tonight, which airs on 97.5 The Fanatic’s overnight ESPN radio simulcasts.

He considers the Phillies and the Mets in a tier just below the Dodgers and the San Diego Padres at the top of the majors. The Chicago Cubs land in the mix too, and the Phillies have another shot to prove themselves against a formidable team at Wrigley Field this weekend.

Olney’s most curious comments came after a question about Triple A prospect Justin Crawford potentially making his MLB debut.

The idea, although it was brought up in the context of promoting a prospect, sheds light on Dombrowski’s limited number of additions in consecutive offseasons. The lack of outfield offense for the Phillies and around the majors is a problem the future Hall of Fame executive simply hasn’t solved.

Austin Hays, Whit Merrifield, Cristian Pache, and Jake Cave have come and gone with very minimal success. 

What can the Phillies reasonably expect from Brandon Marsh, Johan Rojas, Max Kepler, and Weston Wilson for the remainder of 2025? If it’s not enough to patch a weakness, Crawford could make it the show sooner rather than later.

The Phillies head to the "Friendly Confines" for a three-game weekend set on the North Side of Chicago, where the winds have led to some high-scoring games in recent days.

All numbers as of the beginning of play on April 24. All advanced stats courtesy of StatCast, Baseball Reference, and FanGraphs.