Philadelphia Phillies: Max Scherzer striking out 15 batters sums up recent struggles

Despite Max Scherzer striking out 15 batters in only 6 1/3 innings of work on Sunday, the Philadelphia Phillies missed out on a golden opportunity to escape with a win against the Washington Nationals.

Nobody needs to explain to a team like the Philadelphia Phillies just how difficult it can be to face a talent pitcher like Max Scherzer since the Washington Nationals star is always capable of having a monster game with double-digit strikeouts, which was exactly the case on Sunday. All hope seemed lost for the Phillies when Scherzer was able to record 15 strikeouts in just 6 1/3 innings while the Nationals were hanging on to a 1-0 lead, although the game would get a little interesting from there.

Once the seven inning rolled around, and Scherzer was no longer an issue, Philadelphia was finally able to get their bats going by scoring three runs to work their way into a 3-1 lead. Even when the Phillies were able to add another run the following inning thanks to a solo shot by Maikel Franco to build the lead up to 4-1, all signs pointed to the team pulling off the unthinkable by earning a tough win on the road against the Nationals, despite striking out 15 times when facing Scherzer.

Instead, Philadelphia watched all of that hard work to get back on track go to complete waste after allowing Washington to score twice in each of the final two innings, with Wilmer Difo sealing the deal by hitting the game-winning single up the middle to allow Howie Kendrick to score. That’s right, all of that effort put together by the Phillies to make it seem like they were going to pull off the epic win went to complete waste after the bullpen failed to get the necessary six outs to close out the game, resulting in the Nationals pulling off the 5-4 win.

Pulling off this unexpected win after a poor outing against Schurzer would have been a huge accomplishment by Philadelphia, but in a way, Sunday was just another example of some struggles the team has been dealing with as of late. With the Phillies losing for the sixth time in eight games after falling to the Nationals, it’s amazing to even think about how this team is only one game back of the Atlanta Braves in the NL East.

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However, if Philadelphia is going to have any chance at truly competing for the division crown, the offense is going to need to figure out a way to get out of their recent funk. Otherwise, the Phillies will have a better chance of watch this first season under Gabe Kapler end in disappointment.