It’s still April, but the Phillies’ frustrations are already starting to boil over.

Just as the Mets snapped their 12-game losing streak against the Twins, the Phillies now have the longest active losing streak, with 8 games continuing. The Phillies’ offense once again failed to fire up as the Cubs swept them on Wednesday. But the worst part was their pitching.

Taijuan Walker had another day of getting dominated by the batters, and as per their $300 million shortstop, Trea Turner, it’s getting “tough.”

“Not having much fun in here,” said Turner. “Which is tough. This is a great game. We’re lucky to play it. And when you are expected to win, and you want to win, and it’s not happening, it’s tough and not fun.”

Surely it’s tough to see how both the offense and defense of the Phillies are getting battered, especially in the series against the Cubs.

On Wednesday, the Phillies had a 2-1 lead by the top of the second inning, but only to get tied by a misplayed ball in center field by Justin Crawford and second baseman Edmundo Sosa. And the worst part was that till the 9th inning, the Phillies failed to add any more runs to the board. Apart from Alec Bohm and Felix Reyes, no one could score a run.

Turner himself could manage only one hit from his 4 at-bats. Manager Rob Thomson tried to replace Kyle Schwarber at the leadoff with Turner. But that also failed miserably as Schwarber returned with nothing from his 4 at-bats. “Not much is going right for us right now, and at times we’re not playing well, so we just got to stay after it and keep fighting,” a clueless Thomson said after the game.

And just as the batters failed to contribute, the Cubs had a riot against the Walker. This season, Walker’s first-inning struggle was evident as he has allowed 12 hits, 3 HRs, and 5 walks, and has only recorded 6 SOs in the 1st inning in 2026. Thomson fielded Kyle Backhus as an opener to avoid the same, but still no use. Backhus gave up 1 ER in his first inning. Walker entered and surrendered 4 ERs with 1 SO from his 4 innings. 

“I think at the end of the day, I just didn’t do my job again,” Walker claimed responsibility. “Try to attack more and execute. Get ahead and just do my job.”

While Walker admitted his shortcomings, nothing is changing for the Phillies. In his last start against the Braves, Walker entered with a 27.00 ERA in the first innings. He allowed seven runs in four innings. So, despite Turner sharing his frustration and Walker admitting his struggle, the Phillies seem far from getting back their rhythm.

Injuries are getting hard on the Phillies

“Baseball’s a long season, and we’ve got a long way to go,” Rob Thomson said. Surely, the Phillies have just played 24 games till now and have ample time to get back to form in a 162-game league. However, it’s only possible when the full-strength roster is available.

JT Realmuto was one of the few from the Phillies roster hitting above .250. But his service is now halted for a while. He is now officially added to the injured list with back spasms. He joined the likes of Jhoan Duran, Jonathan Bowlan, and Zach Pop, who were already on the IL.

“He’s sore, and it’s gonna be a few days before he’s pain-free. So that’s why we decided to put him on the IL,” Thomson said. So, a few days means the Phillies would be going to miss him for a week at minimum, and that’s huge. He played 17 games this season till now, and he was critical for the pitching staff from behind the plate.

Now that the pitching staff is already struggling, the Phillies have missed the leadership available from behind the plate. On the other hand, the bullpen is also starving for a breather amid Duran’s 15-day IL. Frustations are boiling over among the fans and in the clubhouse, but we have yet to find a solution rightly available. The Mets got Luke Weaver to snap their losing streak. Let’s see what’s for the Phillies.