Phillies swept in Pittsburgh, doing nothing offensively and need to figure it out fast – NBC Sports Philadelphia

PITTSBURGH – The Phillies are going to need to find a way to generate offense without Bryce Harper and the early returns have been ugly.

The Phils were held to a lone run for the second straight day and were swept by the Pirates, falling 2-1 on Sunday afternoon at PNC Park.

The Phillies have lost five consecutive games and 9 of 10. They went 1-5 on a road trip to Toronto and Pittsburgh this week and come home with a 37-28 record. They’re nearly as far behind the Mets in the NL East as they were after being swept at Citi Field in late April.

They knew Sunday wouldn’t be easy against Pirates ace Paul Skenes, who might be the NL Cy Young front-runner at the moment. Skenes used his 99 mph fastball and deep mix of seven pitches to hold the Phillies in check, just as he did on May 18 at Citizens Bank Park. He allowed one run over eight innings in a loss that afternoon and gave up just an unearned run over 7⅔ innings Sunday.

The Phillies mustered two hits off Skenes and they came in consecutive at-bats in the top of the third. Brandon Marsh lined a single up the middle and nine-hole hitter Rafael Marchan doubled. Pirates second baseman Nick Gonzales made an errant relay throw that caromed off Marchan’s body and allowed Marsh to score the Phillies’ only run.

They went 1-for-19 with three walks the rest of the way. The only player to reach base twice was Marsh.

It was a shame for Cristopher Sanchez, who probably had his best command of the season. Sanchez struck out nine and began the eighth inning with just one walk. Manager Rob Thomson left him in to face lefty-hitting Oneil Cruz because Sanchez had handled him three times earlier with two K’s and a groundout. He couldn’t the fourth time, walking Cruz, who leads the majors with 23 steals in 25 attempts.

Cruz spun his wheels and did not seem to get a good jump but still stole second on reliever Orion Kerkering, scoring the game-winning run on an opposite-field single by Andrew McCutchen.

The Phillies return to Citizens Bank Park for a much-needed six-game homestand. The Cubs are in town Monday through Wednesday and the Blue Jays Friday through Sunday.

Zack Wheeler will start Monday’s series opener on 10 days’ rest. He missed the trip to Pittsburgh and Toronto on the paternity list. He’s their ace but he can’t swing the bat and will need more support than Sanchez received in Pittsburgh.