Apr 17, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Taijuan Walker (99) throws a pitch against the Atlanta Braves during the first inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images Bill Streicher
PHILADELPHIA — Having an 8-11 record on April 17 isn't the end of the world, but after watching another night where the Phillies got a poor start from Taijuan Walker and didn't produce offensively in a 9-0 loss, it increasingly feels fair to have some level of concern about Rob Thomson's club.
The Phillies hoped that tweaking Walker's preparation routine — having him increase his intensity and limiting the amount of time between his bullpen and taking the mound — would make him sharper in the first inning.
Instead, he walked Ronald Acuña Jr. and Matt Olson, two of the first three batters he saw. In between those two, Drake Baldwin singled. All things considered, making it out of bases loaded and no one out and only allowing two runs — with RBIs from Ozzie Albies and Mike Yastrzemski — was a minor victory. But Walker has a 24.75 first-inning ERA this season. It's going to be back to the drawing board in terms of how to get him better prepared for games.
And things only got worse after the top of the first inning.
Over his prior three starts, Walker had actually been excellent after the first inning. That's a big qualifier, but there's value in getting length out of a starter after a rough opening frame, and Walker had a 2.32 ERA after the first inning entering the evening.
But after allowing two runs in the top of the first inning Friday, the Braves got Walker for four runs in the second, with the big blow coming in the form of a three-run homer to the opposite field by Austin Riley:
RUNS. DELIVERED. 📦#BravesCountry pic.twitter.com/E1iCMRRKAG
Walker returned for the bottom of the third inning, with Dom Smith hitting a 406-foot homer to increase the deficit to 7-0:
Another bomb from Dom!#BravesCountry pic.twitter.com/JQfvau7P5T
After four outings, Walker has a 9.16 ERA. Yes, there is something to him being able to battle after ugly first innings in his first three starts and give the Phillies length. But when you're actually trying to win a game, having someone take the mound with a 9.16 ERA is suboptimal, to say the least.
The Walker problem could solve itself. Zack Wheeler will start for Double-A Reading on Sunday in Somerset, his fifth rehab appearance. After that, the Phillies could either activate him, or have him make one more rehab outing before returning to the majors. The point being, Walker's time in the starting rotation is ticking.
The guess here is that Walker, assuming health, will remain on the 26-man roster when Wheeler returns. For as frustrating as Walker has been, the Phillies don't have much in the way of starting pitching depth behind the top five of Wheeler, Cristopher Sánchez, Jesús Luzardo, Aaron Nola and Andrew Painter. So Walker could be the long man, keeping him as an insurance option if one of those top five gets hurt. Also, after next Monday's off day, the Phillies will play 22 games in 24 days. During that period, the Phillies could benefit from having a traditional long man and/or a possible spot starter.
Whatever the future holds for Walker — who is in the final season of a four-year/$72 million deal that's largely been a disaster — he's about to become much less important. That makes his struggles, as much as they defined the game, arguably not as concerning as consistent offensive struggles.
Bryce Harper is absolutely raking. He entered the night with a 1.122 OPS in the month of April, and proceeded to turn in another multi-hit night, including tripling for the first time since the 2023 season. And yet, there's been almost no discussion of Harper's resurgence after an ugly first homestand because much of the offense around him has been so putrid.
Getting right-handed hitting production has been of particular concern for the Phillies, as outlined prior to the game. In the home half of the first inning, Edmundo Sosa and J.T. Realmuto each came up with the bases loaded against Atlanta starter Martín Pérez. Neither came through, with Sosa striking out and Realmuto flying out to strand the bases loaded.
Pérez was designated for assignment by the Braves last Sunday, and elected free agency after clearing waivers. He returned to the Braves on a minor-league contract on Wednesday, and had his contract selected this afternoon, in time to make his fourth start of the season. You might think someone who has had that hectic of a week would struggle, but the 35-year-old was excellent against a struggling Phillies lineup. Across six innings, Pérez allowed just four hits and held the Phillies off the board, while striking out four and walking two.
The aforementioned right-handed hitters struggled, with Sosa, Alec Bohm and Otto Kemp combining to go 0-for-12. Realmuto did have two hits, although he failed to come through in the aforementioned situation in the first inning. Adolis García went 0-for-2, but was arguably the second most productive right-handed hitter on the team Friday because he walked twice. If not him, it was Trea Turner, who went 1-for-4 with a single and a walk. The bar is low right now.
Saturday, the Phillies will try to put an end to a three-game losing streak. On one hand, they'll have their ace on the mound in Sánchez. On the other hand, they're a team not getting right-handed production, and one of the more dominant lefties in modern baseball history will be on the mound in Chris Sale. Things may not get better tomorrow.
