The Philadelphia Phillies have a clear idea of their biggest weakness this season before they embark on a week-long road trip. The Phillies will face the San Diego Padres and the Los Angeles Dodgers on the road. As the Cleveland Guardians’ rookie southpaw delivered a shutout performance on the mound, a dejected Don Mattingly acknowledged just where the Phillies’ lineup faltered during their 3-1 loss.

“Our lefties, actually, I felt were handling [Messick] better than the righties,” Mattingly told Scott Lauber of the Inquirer Sports. “Schwarb had good at-bats; Harp had good at-bats; Marsh had good at-bats. Our lefties were good against that angle. Our righties just couldn’t solve that.”

When rookie pitcher Parker Messick, throwing left-handed, took the mound, catcher J.T. Realmuto and his right-handed teammates like Alec Bohm, Trea Turner, and Adolis Garcia couldn’t find a rhythm. They went just 1-for-13, like five friends trying to hit a ball but swinging at the wrong pitch every time. Manager Don Mattingly watched from the dugout, shoulders slumped, knowing this isn’t just one bad game; it’s been a recurring issue all season.

The Phillies’ lineup is struggling against left-handed pitching throughout this season. They have an overall .219 batting average against lefties. The Guardians’ rookie, Parker Messick, was the latest left-handed pitcher to stifle the Phillies’ right-handed hitters, throwing 5.2 scoreless innings despite allowing 5 hits and 2 walks. While the left vs right combinations are usually effective, for the Phillies’ lineup, the truth was just the opposite.

Right-handed hitters Trea Turner, Alec Bohm, J.T Realmuto, Adolis Garcia, and Edmundo Sosa came together to record just one hit in 13 at-bats against Messick. The lefties fared much better with 4-for-9 and one strikeout.

Mattingly told Lauber, “It’s really a matter of our other guys kind of being able to give us productive at-bats — with J.T. [Realmuto], with [Alec Bohm], with [Adolis] García, [Edmundo] Sosa. Guys like that.”

On Sunday, Adolis Garcia was the only right-hander to record a hit against the Guardians. His double at the bottom of the fourth comes after a 0-for-16 streak, recording the first extra-base hit in two weeks.

Underperformance from right-handed hitters against lefties has been an issue all season. Realmuto (.188 BA, .423 OPS), Garcia (.240 BA, .768 OPS), Sosa (.244 BA, .656 OPS), Bohm (.236 BA, .792 OPS), and Turner (.206 BA, .601 OPS) have all struggled to put up numbers when facing southpaws.

The Guardians’ pitching staff kept the Phillies scoreless until the sixth inning. Philadelphia opened the scoreboard at the bottom of the seventh when Brandon Marsh scored on Bryce Harper’s sacrifice fly to LHP Tim Herrin. Before Harper, Marsh led off the bottom frame with a triple. Though Kyle Schwarber’s overall performance against the Guardians was forgettable, going 2-for-12 without a run scored, he recorded two hits on Sunday.

As the Phillies reportedly hold the league-worst right-handed OPS of .586, Mattingly and his coaching staff have not yet found a solution to the problem that plagues them.

“I know the hitting [coaches] are digging in all the time,” Mattingly remarked, per Lauber. “Myself, I’m looking at it like, ‘OK, how do we get our righties going?’ But it’s kind of game to game; it’s guy to guy.”

While the game ended in a loss for the Phillies, their highly touted rookie starter, Andrew Painter, pitched into the seventh inning for the first time this season. Even with rookie Andrew Painter pitching deeper into games than before, the Phillies’ right-handed bats couldn’t score enough to win.

Andrew Painter showed promising signs in the latest loss

The Philadelphia Phillies’ starter, Andrew Painter, is having a turbulent rookie season after a hot start. As his team attempts to turn the season around, Painter has also shown signs of growth under Mattingly.

Against the Guardians, he pitched into the seventh inning for the first time in the major leagues. He threw 82 pitches across 6.1 innings, recording three strikeouts, 6 hits, and 2 runs. Painter kept the Guardians’ lineup shut till the top of the fifth, when Schneeman, whom he walked, scored later in the inning. However, he kept the damage contained, unlike his previous starts.

“Your job is to go out there and pitch deep into games,” Painter told MLB.com after the match. “That takes the load off the bullpen. Just keeping that pitch count down and being efficient early has helped me.”

Before his last start against the Cincinnati Reds, Mattingly spoke about the importance of protecting Painter and taking it slow with him. Painter looked much more in control on Sunday, especially after he had given up as many as 8 runs (vs Athletics) in 3.2 innings before.

Painter currently holds a 1-5 record, with a 5.40 ERA and 40 strikeouts, and appears to be on the track to improvement. His next scheduled start comes on the road against the San Diego Padres.