Fading Philadelphia Phillies End July in Major Funk

The Philadelphia Phillies are in serious trouble after getting swept by the New York Yankees.

Jul 30, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Brandon Marsh breaks his bat. / Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

What a difference a few weeks makes.

Right before the All-Star Break, the Philadelphia Phillies were on top of the world. They owned the best record in baseball, had just swept the Los Angeles Dodgers and were sending a franchise-record eight players to the All-Star Game in Texas.

The vibes were immaculate.

Fast forward a few weeks, and now the sky is falling.

The Phillies ended the first half on a down note, dropping two of three to the lowly Oakland Athletics at home right before the break. The series finale was Philadelphia's worst loss of the season, an 18-3 blowout that appeared fluky at the time, but was a bad omen in retrospect.

The Phillies came back from the break and seemed to take their eye off the ball, losing back-to-back road series against the Pittsburgh Pirates and Minnesota Twins. Their rut continued at home, as they lost another series to the Cleveland Guardians before getting swept for the first time all season by the New York Yankees.

Phillies fans: DO SOMETHING THE YANKEES ARE EMBARRASSING YOU

The Phillies: pic.twitter.com/l3gglfatht

— Jeff McDevitt (@JeffMcDev) July 30, 2024

Now, Philadelphia is in full-blown panic mode.

The Phillies have lost five straight series and are 4-11 over their last 15 games, including 1-5 over their last six (all at home). Many fans, still scarred by the Philadelphia Eagles' shocking collapse last fall, are now wondering if the same thing is happening to their beloved baseball team.

Things aren't going to get any easier for Philadelphia, either.

After an off day on Thursday to regroup, the team heads west for a 10-game road trip against the Seattle Mariners, Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks -- two first-place teams and the defending National League champs.

If the Phillies continue to struggle, their once-comfortable division lead might be in serious jeopardy by the time they return in mid-August.

Dave Dombrowski got Philadelphia substantial reinforcements at the trade deadline, so there's no excuse. The Phillies need to play like the team that started July rather than the one that finished it.