Phillies cannot be content with poor start at home

PHILADELPHIA — Shota Imanaga dominated against the Phillies lineup. The Cubs lineup dominated against Jesús Luzardo. The Phillies (8-10) played maybe their most brutal game of the year in an 11-2 loss against the Chicago Cubs.

The Phillies have lost three of their first four series at home, matching their total number of series losses at home during the 2025 regular season. In each of the last three seasons, the Phillies have finished the year at least 17 games over .500 at home. They are 5-7 through 12 games at home. They have finished the last three years with the exact same record on the road, 41-40.

Home success has been the foundation of the Phillies’ sustained regular season success in this era of contention. Without it, the 2026 Phillies may be in trouble.

“We’re going through a tough time right now,” manager Rob Thomson said postgame, “in all phases of the game. I don’t think that’s a secret. We’re going to get better. We’re a good club.”

It’s April. There are still 69 regular season home games left to play. But the concerns, and big losses, are piling up. They allowed 28 runs over three games against Chicago in the series loss. They hold the second-worst run differential in MLB at -25.

The lefty Imanaga recorded 26 swing-and-misses, the most by a starter in MLB this year. It’s the most by an opposing starter against the Phillies since Jacob deGrom induced 35 swinging strikes on September 6, 2020. Of the 26 whiffs, 14 came on Imanaga’s splitter.

Only 42 of Imanaga’s 97 pitches were in the strike zone. Was he surprised at the amount of chase he was getting out of the Phillies lineup?

“Not necessarily,” Imanaga said through a Cubs interpreter. “The Phillies lineup, they have a really good lineup where they can score runs from really any part of their lineup.”

The sentiment around the league is that the Phillies are one of the best teams in the sport. They are going to have to start playing like it.

“Obviously, it’s early in the season, but I don’t like that notion,” Bryce Harper said postgame. “I like to win games in April as much as I like to win games in September.”

Imanaga made one bad pitch all night, an 0-1 fastball on his second pitch of the game that Trea Turner hit to center field for his 19th career leadoff home run.

The Phillies didn’t score again until the ninth, when Harper hit his fourth home run of the season against left-hander Luke Little.

Luzardo was once again unable to limit the damage after a poor fifth inning derailed his last start. He was visibly frustrated after allowing a double to the No. 9 batter Matt Shaw in the fifth. One batter later, a dejected Luzardo turned around and watched as a Nico Hoerner fly ball to left center landed in the first row.

Luzardo was able to escape the inning with a double play ball, but things did not get better in the sixth. He recorded the first out, but three straight batters all reached on base hits to load the bases. Shaw delivered the last blow to Luzardo with a two-run double to the opposite field on a pitch below the zone.

The 12 hits against Luzardo were the most in a game for him since he allowed 12 runs to the Milwaukee Brewers on May 31, 2025. Luzardo’s ERA through four starts is 7.94.

“It’s kind of the same story all year, I felt like,” Luzardo said. “Put some good swings on some really good pitches. I feel like that third inning was an unfortunate series of events. And then as the game went on, I kind of put myself in a hole. A couple hard-hit balls, obviously the home run, a couple hard-hit doubles, but it just feels like every ball they’d hit finds a hole.”

The Phillies have not been smooth on the defensive side. With runners on first and second with one out in the third inning, the Cubs attempted a double steal against Luzardo, a common occurrence at times last year.

J.T. Realmuto’s throw got away from the third baseman Alec Bohm, allowing Hoerner to score and Alex Bregman to reach third base. Turner was initially able to keep the wide throw in front of him, but the ball slipped out of his hands. Bregman came into score on a wild pitch.

The Phillies will have the day off Thursday before kicking off a three-game set at home against the Atlanta Braves.