Defensive miscues sink Phils: 'We've got to clean it up'

PHILADELPHIA -- The Phillies spent Sunday morning revamping their bullpen in an effort to shore up the club's biggest need in its pursuit of a championship.

They moved Taijuan Walker to the 'pen on a permanent basis and recalled No. 12 prospect Seth Johnson to see if either could potentially be a long-term solution. But in the short term, the Phillies could take some of the pressure off that bullpen by playing clean defense and scoring a few extra runs.

Unfortunately, they did neither this weekend against the Brewers.

A pair of pivotal defensive miscues led to a three-run seventh inning for the Brewers that turned a one-run lead into a two-run deficit en route to the Phillies' 5-2 loss on Sunday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park.

“Disappointing loss,” manager Rob Thomson said. “Get swept at home, which doesn’t happen very often.”

To that point, it was just the second time the Phils have been swept at home in the previous three seasons (the other was last July 29-31 vs. the Yankees). Without Bryce Harper -- who is expected to return on Tuesday -- the Phillies scored just two runs apiece on Friday and Sunday. They also trailed 17-2 on Saturday before scoring five runs in the ninth.

But the story of the weekend was the defense.

Sunday's decisive frame started with Weston Wilson misreading a line drive off the bat of Caleb Durbin. The left fielder initially broke in, then took an indirect route backward on a ball that ultimately went over his head for a double. It had a catch probability of 90%, per Statcast.

"Just didn't see it off the bat right away, got a bad jump," Wilson said. "Didn't get a good read. But that ball's got to be caught."

Durbin came in to score a few batters later when shortstop Trea Turner booted a routine ground ball off the bat of William Contreras with two outs. Jake Bauers followed with a two-run double to turn what should have been a 2-1 lead into a 4-2 deficit heading into the bottom of the seventh.

"That's the difference in the game," Turner said. "Got to make the play."

Perhaps the most frustrating part for the Phillies is they, for the most part, had played solid defense this season -- including Turner, who made multiple plays ranging to the far side of second base on Sunday. He entered Sunday with two outs above average (OAA) after putting up negative marks in each of the past two seasons. (He graded out less favorably in defensive runs saved, coming in with -4 after accounting for -14 in 2024 and -12 in '23.)

Metrics aside, Turner went the entire month of May without making an error. He had a 29-game errorless streak dating to April.

"I feel like [my] defense has been really good, just the mistakes have been in big moments, which is frustrating," Turner said. "But where I was at the last two years, and where I'm at now, I feel a lot better."

This weekend's miscues, however, certainly weren't isolated to Turner.

After all, Turner may not have even been in that spot if not for Wilson making a misplay of his own to start that frame. Edmundo Sosa also made a throwing error on the first play of the game, though Ranger Suárez managed to work around that for a scoreless frame.

On Saturday, Jesús Luzardo fielded a bunt and made an errant throw to first base to help open the floodgates in what turned into an eight-run fourth inning.

The Brewers also legged out a pair of infield singles on Sunday and beat out multiple potential double-play balls over the weekend.

“I know they’re working at it, but we’ve got to clean it up -- and we will,” Thomson said. “But yeah, it’s been a tough couple of days.”

Thomson also conceded that the mistakes weren’t limited to on the field.

With the Brewers turning to a right-handed reliever in the sixth, Thomson opted to stick with the right-handed-hitting Wilson instead of pinch-hitting one of his left-handed hitters, Max Kepler or Brandon Marsh. The latter could have stayed in left for defense to protect the one-run lead.

“You know, there’s a couple of things I’m going to look back on over today’s game and question myself over,” Thomson said. “So not only do we have to play better, but I have to manage better.”

The Phillies have dropped four straight games following a 29-game stretch in which they didn’t lose even two in a row. Next up, they head to Toronto to face a Blue Jays team that has won five straight games.

“We’ve got to go on the road with the day off tomorrow to clear our heads,” Thomson said. “We’ve got to keep moving forward, but we’ve got to clean some stuff up.”