Extra Points: Phillies loss has fans seeing Red

By DAVID WEINBERG

The Philadelphia sports landscape is changing colors earlier than expected.

Phillies fans are taking off their “Red October” swag, shoving those t-shirts and hoodies into dresser drawers, throwing them in the backs of closets, maybe even tossing them into the trash.

As of Sunday, they’ll be donning green gear again in hopes the Eagles can turn their season around and erase the disappointment of the Phils’ loss to the hated New York Mets in the NLDS.

Are you frustrated by the way the Phillies folded?

Three months ago, such a collapse seemed unfathomable. The Phils were the best team in baseball, slugging and pitching with aplomb. An 11-5 victory over Oakland left them with a 62-33 record.  They seemed like a shoo-in to break the franchise record for wins in a season (102 in 2011) and appeared destined to win a World Series for the first time since 2008.

After the all-star break, however, pimples began to pop up on a previously smooth complexion. They were 34-37 in their final 71 games, including Wednesday’s season-ending, 4-1 loss to the Mets.

“Well, it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish,” Nick Castellanos told MLB.com. “And we started fantastic. We were the best team in baseball in the first half. Everybody in baseball and all the fans were saying, ‘This is our year. This is our year. This is our year.’

“I don’t know if expectations put on the pressure. I don’t know, But one thing I know is that we didn’t cross the finish line.”

There was plenty of blame to go around for the playoff collapse.  Almost everyone had a role, save for Castellanos, Bryce Harper,  Zack Wheeler, and Ranger Suarez.

Wheeler delivered a sparking performance in the opening game, tossing seven shutout innings and allowing just one hit. Suarez fought throw some early trouble Wednesday and did not allow a run.

But the bullpen failed miserably. Francisco Lindor’s grand slam off Carlos Esteves capped a string of lousy outings by the relievers. Once considered a strength, they had a combined ERA of 11.37 in the series.

No one was effective, not even all-stars Jeff Hoffman and Matt Strohm.

Castellanos was the offensive star, hitting .412 in the series and delivering a walk-off hit for their only win in Game 2. Harper batted .333 (4-for-12) with a homer.

But collectively, the offense struggled. The Phils batted .186 in the series and struck out 38 times. There were numerous occasions where they lacked discipline at the plate and swung at pitches outside the strike zone.

They did more fishing in the series than a four-hour excursion aboard Cape May’s Miss Chris charter.

Much of the ineptitude took place at the bottom of the lineup. The Phillies’ No. 6-9 hitters went a combined 5-for-54 (.093). According to The Athletic, that’s the lowest-ever playoff batting average for the back half of a lineup.

The entire lineup struggled to score, especially early in games. They produced just two runs before the sixth inning during the entire series and plated just 12 total runs.

It turned out that their best at-bat was their first at-bat. Kyle Schwarber bashed a leadoff home run in the bottom of the first in Game 1, sending the flag-waving crowd at Citizens Bank Park into a frenzy.

Now those flags are probably being used as dish rags.

“It (bleeping) hurts,” Schwarber told MLB.com. “It’s not a good feeling.”

Try telling that to the fans.

Just in the last three years, they’ve been forced to deal with one heartbreaking defeat after another.

In the 2022-23 sports year, the Phils lost the World Series to the Astros after winning two of the first three games, the Eagles blew a second-half lead against the Chiefs in the Super Bowl and the Sixers lost Games 6-7 to the Celtics.

Last year, fans watched the Phils fall apart in the NLCS against the Diamondbacks, witnessed an epic collapse by the Eagles, then had to deal with a first-round exit by the Sixers against the Knicks.

Now they have no choice but to get behind the Eagles, who return to action after their bye on Sunday against Cleveland.

The Birds have gotten off to a troubling, 2-2 start, but could challenge for the NFC East and perhaps make a playoff run if they stay healthy.

We’ll see if they show their true colors.