Apr 10, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber (12) reacts after striking out against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the fifth inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
PHILADELPHIA -- It didn't take long for the Phillies to put an end to their 20-inning scoreless drought.
And it took an ever shorter amount of time to start a new one.
That's because the Phillies first four batters all reached base and all scored a run. They then proceeded to go 4-for-30 the rest of the game, striking out 16 times and didn't score another run.
They also watched helplessly as Jesus Luzardo, who had a no-hitter going into the fifth, promptly coughed up that four-run lead in the span of eight batters of that fifth inning, leading to a 5-4 loss for the Phillies, their third straight and fourth in the last five games.
The offense continues to look woefully inconsistent. The Phillies had 23 swings and misses in the game.
Brandon Marsh, who hit a 3-run homer in the first inning out of the cleanup spot, and Alec Bohm each struck out three times. Kyle Schwarber, who is on pace to strike out 262 times (he won't, but that's what the start has been like) and Adolis Garcia each struck out twice.
Bohm has looked especially lost. After hitting a hug homer on opening day, Bohm is now 7-for-44 (.159) in the 12 games since with one extra base hit (a double). His OPS in those 12 games is .390.
I asked Rob Thomson what he’s seeing right now from Alec Bohm, who is hitting .170 so far this season. @OnPattison pic.twitter.com/tjirSpec1N
— Tim Kelly (@TimKellySports) April 11, 2026
"He's just missing," Thomson said of his third baseman. "I don't know whether it's timing or what. Contact point? It could be a number of things."
Bohm also misplayed a bunt in the fifth inning, conceding to Luzardo to field it close to the third base line. That loaded the bases with no outs and, well, it snowballed from there.
"We need to get an out right there," Thomson said. "You know, we have a four-run lead. We need to come out and get the ball, be aggressive, and get an out at first base."
Bohm sat a game in San Francisco with a groin pull. He's still playing with it wrapped up, and maybe it's affecting him in some way.
He was dropped to seventh in the lineup Friday. It wouldn't be a surprise if he got another day off again soon.
As for Luzardo, while his first start of the year against Texas was statistically worse than Friday, you could sense that he was more annoyed with the outcome against Arizona.
Jesús Luzardo referred to his performance Friday as “unacceptable.”
(Via @TimKellySports) pic.twitter.com/XfhZDj2SRW
"(I was) just falling behind way too much," Luzardo said. All game, it felt like I was too low on every guy, which is just unacceptable, and it eventually caught up to me in the fifth....
"The first one (against Texas) was a little louder contact, but the stuff was still good. Today was more so falling behind. A lot of self-inflicted stuff, so I think they're separate. Obviously frustrating, both of them."
And it's easy to be frustrated with the Phillies thus far, as they are 6-7, and have looked disjointed in almost every facet.
But there have been some positive signs. Bryce Harper had another two hits and hit a third ball hard as well. since April 1 (eight games) he's slashing .345/.441/.690 for a 1.131 OPS.
Justin Crawford continues to impress. He hit a two out triple off the top of the wall in right field in the bottom of the ninth, but he remained at third as the tying run as Trea Turner flew out ot end the game.
And the bullpen was good again. Jonathan Bowlan, Brad Keller, Orion Kerkering and Tanner Banks combined to toss 4 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing just two hits.
The good news for the Phillies is the next game starts pretty quickly. A rare, 1:05 start time on Saturday means they can put this one behind them quickly, and Marsh said he thinks they will.
Brandon Marsh does not think the Phillies are pressing.
(Via @TimKellySports) pic.twitter.com/AOhOxXLcWV
"It's early, man," he said. "We still have a lot of time to go to be great in the future. We're going to flush today and work on finishing them tomorrow. It was just one of those days.
"We got a lot of ball to play. A lot of ball to play."
He's right. They do. But they have to start playing ball a lot differently than they have over the first two weeks of the season.
