Despite a 4-3 comeback in Game 2, the Philadelphia Phillies (30-29; 3rd in NL East) failed to capitalize in Game 3 against the defending World Series champions, ending their road trip on a bitter note. From pitching to hitting, everything fell flat as the Los Angeles Dodgers (38-21; 1st in NL West) delivered a 9-1 blowout loss to the Phillies. Following the game, a disappointed Phillies veteran spoke about their latest slump.

“It’s a little weird that I feel like we kind of go into funks as a team,” Trea Turner told the Inquirer Sports. “It seems to be like kind of balling up sometimes, and we’ve got to figure that out a little bit.”

Throughout the season, the Phillies have been in and out of slumps. Their 9-19 record at the season’s start brought a new manager into the clubhouse. The Phillies fired Rob Thomson and appointed Don Mattingly as the interim manager. He pulled them up from the funk with a 21-10 record.

However, the Phillies have been depending on their pitching staff to lock down wins lately. But it did not solve their issues with a lineup that often goes silent. On June 1, 2026, nothing worked in the Phillies’ favor as Andrew Painter recorded his shortest start yet, giving up four runs.

Meanwhile, Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto (2.86 ERA) shut the Phillies out in 5.1 scoreless innings. Despite surrendering four hits, Yamamoto recorded his season high of 10 strikeouts on Sunday. He also threw 21 whiffs in his 104-pitch outing. The Dodgers would have recorded a shutout win without Bryan Stott’s solo homer in the ninth.

The entire Phillies lineup recorded only 5 hits against the Dodgers’ pitching staff on Sunday. With the Dodgers leading 4-0 on Sunday, Justin Crawford doubled after Rafael Marchan’s single to put runners on second and third. But the Phillies could not cash in on the opportunity as Kyle Schwarber and Turner struck out to end the inning.

Against the Dodgers, Turner recorded one hit each in the last two games in eight at-bats. Currently under an 11-year, $300 million deal, Turner slashed .172/.200/.379 in the last seven games, clocking two home runs.

As Schwarber and Adolis Garcia went hitless on Sunday, Mattingly summed up where the Dodgers went ahead of the Phillies.

“The story for me was they got two-out hits with guys in scoring position, and we weren’t able to do it,” Mattingly told Lochlahn March of the Inquirer.

Regarding hitting, the Phillies are one of the worst in the league. Their .224 average is the second-worst in MLB. Whereas their Sunday night opponents hold the best hitting average at .263.

The Phillies have scored only 3.9 runs per game so far this season. The Inquirer reported the team has not scored higher than four runs since May 17.

After the loss, Turner spoke about what they need to achieve to keep afloat this season. He said, “I don’t know if it’s just keeping a little bit simpler, or not trying to do too much, I mean all those cliché things, but we just got to figure out ways to keep the innings going and have those big innings.”

The Phillies’ last big innings came against the Pirates (9-11, 6-0, 6-0) in mid-May when they pulled off a series sweep.

Meanwhile, Mattingly has shared his views on Painter’s latest outing.

Don Mattingly reflects on Painter’s start vs. the Dodgers

After looking steady and in control for his last couple of matches, Andrew Painter’s stuff did not work against the Dodgers. Mattingly pulled him after 3.1 innings as the Dodgers’ lineup got the best of him.

He allowed 7 out of the total 12 hits by the Dodgers, 4 runs, and a walk on Sunday. Painter was under pressure from the very first inning, but he kept them scoreless. The damage started with two outs in the second frame, as Freeland hit a one-run double. After giving up a run, Painter closed the second inning, striking out Shohei Ohtani.

“I thought Paint was OK, really,” Mattingly said to Inquirer Sports. “The bottom of the order kind of hurt us. Two-out hits hurt us. Freeland gets the two-out hit and drives in a run. Tucker hits the ball down the line, hits the bag. I think we make that play. That’s another run.”

As Mattingly said, the Dodgers converted two-out situations into hits and often scored. After Painter retired Mookie Betts and Andy Pages in the third, Kyle Tucker singled to add one more run to the lead. In the next inning, the Dodgers homered twice to bring their score to 4-0 before Mattingly pulled Painter.

The Phillies’ already terrible weekend turned worse when J. T. Realmuto left the game early because of a hit-by-pitch. Yamamoto’s 97-mph fastball struck Realmuto’s wrist, leaving him in pain. Rafael Marchan replaced him. However, Realmuto’s X-rays are clear, as he fortunately avoided a serious injury.

After capping May in a tough spot, the Phillies would look to continue their comeback under Mattingly in June.