Phillies Notes: Rotation vs Cards, Bradley Update, Moniak

After getting off to a fast start, the Philadelphia Phillies have struggled recently in their rematch series' with the Atlanta Braves and New Work Mets.

Everything appeared to be working in the opening week against the Braves and Mets, but they have struggled, especially at the plate and defensively this week.

They got the big hit or made the key defensive play in the first week, but stranded runners on-base and made some errors in the field in week two against the same two ball clubs.

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The rain out on Thursday actually helped the Phillies out. It means they won't need to use a sixth starter and can push back Zach Eflin to Friday, Matt Moore will pitch on Saturday and Aaron Nola on Sunday against the Cardinals.

Eflin has been pretty good, but hasn't registered a decision in 2021. He has a 3.46 ERA and allowed five earned runs and two walks in 13 innings (two starts). He struck out 10 and had a 1.00 WHIP.

The lefty Moore has been about what you'd expect for a cheap back of the rotation veteran.  In two games, Moore has a 7.56 ERA in 8.1 innings pitched.

As for Nola, the Phillies will need a better version than the one we saw in his last two outings.  The ace right-hander is 0-1 with a 3.45 ERA in 15.2 innings pitched.

Update on Bradley 

Phillies manager Joe Girardi said Wednesday that Archie Bradley will likely be sidelined for another 3-4 weeks due his oblique injury.

The 28-year old, will be out until sometime in early-to-mid May and replaced by lefty JoJo Romero in the Phillies bullpen.

So far Bradley has tossed in four games with a 6.00 ERA, 1.67 WHIP in three innings of work.  He was brought in to help bolster a historically bad bullpen, and was being used in the set-up role.

Last season, Romero finished with a 0-0 record to go along with a 7.59 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. He had 10 strikeouts in 10.2 innings pitched. This season, in two games, he has a 10.80 ERA and 1.80 WHIP in just 1.2 innings pitched.

Philadelphia's rotation has combined for four quality starts in the first 12 games , but are just 1-4 so far in 2021. Meanwhile, the Phillies bullpen is 5-2 with a 4.34 ERA with an impressive 40 strikeouts and 18 walks in 37.1 innings pitched.

Moniak Called Up

The Phillies recalled former No. 1 overall pick Mickey Moniak from the teams alternate training site, replacing Adam Haseley, who left the team for personal reasons.

Moniak, who made his Major League debut in 2020, was in the Phillies line up on Thursday against the Mets.

The team could elect to give Moniak regular at-bats in centerfield with Haseley out for an undetermined amount of time.

The 22-year old hit .271 with two homers, six RBIs and seven walks during Grapefruit League play.