With trade deadline approaching, slumping Harper offers perspective: ‘Superstars got to show up’

The Phillies have hit a roadblock.

After sweeping the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Phillies are 4-8 and have dropped four consecutive series to the Oakland Athletics, Pittsburgh Pirates, Minnesota Twins and Cleveland Guardians.

The Phillies had a chance to snap that streak on Sunday against a pitcher making his MLB debut. Kyle Schwarber homered twice in his first two at-bats, but the Phillies ran into a hot bullpen and Steven Kwan, the favorite to win the American League batting title, became the first lefty to homer against José Alvarado in the regular season in nearly two years.

The slump hasn’t hurt them yet. They entered the A’s series with a 9.5-game lead over the Atlanta Braves in the NL East. Since the Braves went 5-7 over that same time span, the Phillies have only lost one game in the standings.

But the frustration is mounting. The Phillies had a lead in six of the eight losses. Three of those losses have come with the Phillies holding a three-run lead at one point in the game. The bullpen stumbled in the first game out of the break in Pittsburgh and in the series finale against Minnesota. Defensive miscues, a Marsh missed fly ball against the Twins and sloppiness in the first game of the Guardians series, have proven to be costly. They had to withstand missed starts from Zack Wheeler and Ranger Suárez due to back issues.

They still have a two-game lead over the Guardians and Dodgers for the best record in baseball, but have gone 20-20 since arriving back in the states from the London Series.

The offense is also struggling. The club’s .697 OPS heading into Sunday’s game was the 12th lowest in baseball. The 2-6 hitters on Sunday went hitless in 18 at-bats with three walks.

Bryce Harper is also slumping. He homered on Saturday, but has four hits in his last 29 at-bats. He went 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout in Sunday’s loss.

“Any time you’re missing pitches over the zone, swinging at pitches out of the zone, you just can’t do that,” a frustrated Harper said.

Harper is still well on his way to having a legit shot at his third National League MVP, but it’s been a rough stretch. Since the start of the All-Star break, Harper has a .629 OPS. He threw his bat after just missing a pitch that would have given the Phillies the lead in the seventh inning.

The Phillies will get a boost on Monday when Carlos Estévez arrives ahead of the Yankees series. You can never rule out another move, but the Phillies got the heavy lifting done over the weekend when they acquired Estévez and Austin Hays.

Both players, and perhaps another addition, will aid in the club’s quest for a championship. But if that’s it for the Phillies, Harper knows it’s up to him — and the highly paid stars around him — to bring it home.

“Superstars got to show up,” Harper said.

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