OOTP 4/12: Reds 6, Phillies 5

On this Easter Sunday, it seems only fitting that there needs to be a way to resurrect the team’s stars.

It’s not that it’s frustrating that Bryce Harper isn’t hitting.

It’s not that it’s frustrating that Aaron Nola isn’t pitching well.

It’s just.....difficult.

Difficult to accept the fact that a year after signing his mega-deal, when expectations were heightened by a pretty big spring, Harper still isn’t hitting. Of course it’s still very early. There is still almost 145 games to go. But we love hot starts. We love to see the guys come out of the gates playing and hitting like their hair is on fire.

Take Jay Bruce. Today, Bruce hit two more home runs to take over the major league lead with 9. His 17 RBI are tops in the National League. He is playing way over his head and making the absence of Andrew McCutchen sting just a little less.

These are the types of starts that we want our stars to get off to. Not the sub-.185 batting averages that Harper, J.T. Realmuto and Rhys Hoskins are off to. While we are learned enough to understand the value of batting average and to properly put it into context, it’s still nice to see a nice, shiny .300 average at the end of the boxscore.

It’s games like this, when the top of the lineup goes 3 for 17 that makes losses like this sting a little more. I could recap what went on, but it’s pretty obvious. They’re getting offense from Bruce and Bruce alone right now.

Now, let’s talk about Nola.

For some reason, this is the second season in a row that Nola has started slowly. Three home runs allowed, six runs, three walks, all in only 3 ²⁄₃ innings. As with Harper, it’s still early. There is time left. But it would be nice to see some kind of rebound from Nola.

After celebrating this holiday in the Queen City, the Phillies will take on the Brewers in Milwaukee starting tomorrow night.