Hey, you don’t have to read this: Braves 15, Phillies 1

The Phillies lost 15-1 today to the Braves, dropping a series in spectacularly incompetent fashion with a game in which Sean Rodriguez was the only Phillies pitcher to not allow a run. Instead of Jake Arrieta, the Phillies went with a bullpen game and got utterly shellacked by the team most able—and willing—to bury them in the standings.

The triumvirate of Vince Velasquez (2.1 IP, 4 h, 4 ER), Cole Irvin (3.2 IP, 9 H, 6 ER), and Jerad Eickhoff (1.0 IP, 6 H, 5 ER) looked utterly outmatched by a Braves offense with no real weaknesses at the moment, and in hindsight, stood next to no chance to set the Phillies up for a series win, especially with the lineup contributing a grand total of six (6) hits on the day.

I’d yell at the clouds here about the injuries that led to Andrew Knapp, Maikel Franco, and Nick Williams all getting starts today, but Knapp and Franco combined to provide a third of the Phillies’ offense.

They finished the weekend 2.5 games out of first place with 23 more consecutive games to play against divisional opponents, including three more in Atlanta at the start of July. This stretch of games will take them right up to the all-star break, a time when the needs that have been fully on display in this series should probably be addressed.