The Philadelphia Phillies’ 1-through-3 hitters — Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, and Bryce Harper — went a combined 10-for-48 in the NLDS. One good night surrounded by three lifeless ones.
Game 1: 1-for-11.
Game 2: 1-for-10.
Game 3: 7-for-13.
Game 4: 1-for-14.
That’s not a slump — that’s a death sentence for a lineup built around its stars.
For too many years, this team has lived and died by the stars at the top of its order. Schwarber’s tone-setting power. Turner’s speed on the bases. Harper’s all-world presence in the box. When those three get rolling, it feels like no one in baseball can keep up. But when they don’t? You get exactly what we saw in this series and the last one and the one before that — quick innings, chasing pitches, failure to hit in big moments, and a dugout that suddenly feels quiet.
Maybe it’s fatigue. Maybe it’s pressure. Maybe it’s just baseball. But for all the noise and confidence this lineup carried into October over the past three seasons, the Phillies’ stars simply didn’t show up when the lights were brightest … again.
This wasn’t about the starting pitchers, bullpen management, a missed call or a boneheaded play. This was about the top of the lineup — the names on the back of the jerseys that sell out Citizens Bank Park — failing to deliver when their team needed them most … again.
And once again, this October the Phillies’ stars went cold.