What's Wrong With The Philadelphia Phillies' Offense?

The Philadelphia Phillies' offense has been a major disappointment thus far.

The Philadelphia Phillies' offense has been a major disappointment thus far. / Reggie Hildred-USA TODAY Sports

The Philadelphia Phillies' offense forgot to show up on Tuesday, getting blanked by the St. Louis Cardinals in a 3-0 loss at Busch Stadium that squandered a terrific start by Zack Wheeler (7 IP, 3 ER). The defeat dropped the Phillies' record to 5-6.

Unfortunately for Philadelphia, weak offensive showings have been a theme this season.

The Phillies are averaging just 3.73 runs per game, well below last year's mark of 4.91 despite returning most of the same hitters.

In fact, Tuesday was the first time since July 22, 2023, that Philadelphia got shut out with Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner and J.T. Realmuto all in the lineup together. It also didn't help that they had a tough matchup against three-time All-Star Sonny Gray.

The primary issue is that Philadelphia has been one of the worst teams in baseball with runners in scoring position. After going 0-for-8 in those situations on Tuesday, the Phillies are now hitting just .191 with RISP, which ranks 28th in MLB.

After the game, manager Rob Thomson suggested that his players may be pressing, which seems evident based on their woes with men in scoring position.

Rob Thomson on the Phillies offensive struggles:

"I don't know if everybody's [trying too hard] but that typically happens when you're going through something like this. They've just got to relax and get back to their game." pic.twitter.com/WERAxQJyod

— Phillies Tailgate (@PhilsTailgate) April 10, 2024

Philadelphia's power has been sporadic as well.

While the club has 11 homers in 11 games so far, only four members of the starting lineup have gone deep.

If a team isn't getting timely hits or knocking the ball over the wall, they won't score a lot of runs.

Until the Phillies start doing one or both of those things, their sluggish start will continue.