More Nonchalant Comments Come From Philadelphia Phillies Ahead of Elimination Game

The Philadelphia Phillies shared their thoughts on what took place during the Game 3 loss, and there was a whole lot of the same nonchalant attitude.

Oct 8, 2024; New York City, New York, USA; Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper (3) looks on before game three against the New York Mets in the NLDS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Citi Field / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Something has felt off about the Philadelphia Phillies for some time.

After going into the All-Star break as the most dominant team in Major League Baseball, they stumbled out of the gates and put together a frustratingly poor second half that almost saw their massive NL East lead disappear.

Luckily, all the good things they did earlier in the season allowed them to win the division and finish with the second overall seed in the National League, which earned them a bye right into the NLDS round of the playoffs.

This was the moment when this veteran-laden group was supposed to flip the switch and put everything they had been talking about all year long on the line and go after the World Series championship they feel has gotten away from them.

All the words about needing to do better at the plate, and being disciplined, and not chasing pitches, and fixing their approach to pass the baton they had spouted during their struggles in the second half would end, making way for that to be shown on the field.

Through three games, that hasn't happened.

The Phillies lost an ugly one in Game 3 where all the issues that have been red flags turned into full on alarm bells.

Philadelphia is now one loss away from seeing their season end early for the second year in a row, but even with that situation upon them, the same old message is being parroted.

"Our job is to do one thing, win a baseball game [on Wednesday]. Our goal is to find a way to make sure we get back to Philadelphia. That's our mindset, that's what it is. Everyone's gonna do what they need to do to where they're gonna prepare," Kyle Schwarber told reporters.

The game really ended for the Phillies in the top of the sixth inning when they finally had New York Mets pitcher Sean Manaea on the ropes with runners on first and second base with nobody out.

Bryce Harper struck out on three pitches and Nick Castellanos lined into a double play.

Inning over.

"Disbelief? No, because baseball is that game. Right? More just like, '[Shoot], I can't believe that happened,'" Castellanos said when describing that result.

Yikes.

The maligned slugger came through in a major way for Philadelphia in Game 2 after fans let their frustrations out on him. Instead of wilting under that pressure, he rose to the occasion and delivered an epic postseason performance that all Phillies fans were hoping for from the ironman right fielder.

Catcher J.T. Realmuto said he thought that would loosen up the team going into Game 3 now that some of the pressure was off, allowing them to produce runs like they had throughout the year.

That didn't happen.

Philadelphia reverted back to the same team that takes pitches in the zone, chases the ones outside of it, and doesn't work a count when it's clear that's what the situation calls for.

Harper took responsibility for coming up short in the sixth inning, saying, "We had some situations, me personally, and didn't come through."

The Phillies have another game in a hostile environment where they can stave off elimination and set up a winner-take-all contest at Citizens Bank Park.

While they might be focused on making sure that happens like Schwarber said, they certainly aren't doing much to ensure fans they are ready for the task at hand.

"We have confidence in ourselves, but it's obviously frustrating too when you hit the ball on the screws right at somebody. Then you're like, 'Well, what do I do now?' But that's the game we play. We have to battle tomorrow and keep grinding them out," Trea Turner said.

It's the same old message once again.

Hopefully it's not the same result in Game 4.