Kolby Allard and Taijuan Walker allow seven runs combined; Phillies’ magic number to clinch bye still 2

The Phillies can clinch a first-round bye and home-field advantage in the NLDS with a victory over the Cubs on Wednesday and a loss by the Brewers.

Taijuan Walker pitched 1⅔ innings, allowing three earned runs on four hits.Read moreSteven M. Falk / Staff Photographer

by Alex Coffey

Published Sept. 24, 2024, 9:50 p.m. ET

The fifth starter spot has been an albatross for the Phillies, so it was only fitting that two pitchers who auditioned for that spot — Kolby Allard and Taijuan Walker — gave up a combined seven earned runs in a 10-4 loss to the Cubs on Tuesday night. After opener Tanner Banks loaded the bases with one out in the second, Walker entered in relief.

It did not go well. Walker walked his first two batters — which scored two runs for the Cubs. He then allowed an RBI groundout to Dansby Swanson, a two-run single to Seiya Suzuki, and an RBI single to Cody Bellinger. After pitching a one-hit third, Walker departed in the fourth, with runners on second and third and no outs.

He received a hefty amount of boos as he walked off the field. Walker has an 11.05 ERA over his last seven games, and a 9.68 ERA since the All-Star break.

“I feel for him, because he’s worked his tail off, and he’s gained a little bit of velocity, but it’s just a lot of pitches in the middle of the plate,” manager Rob Thomson said of Walker. “He was throwing more strikes than he was earlier. But I feel for him, because he’s worked his tail off.”

Allard took over from there. He retired his next six batters, but struggled in the sixth. Miguel Amaya hit a leadoff single, Swanson hit a one-out double, and Suzuki collected a walk. Bellinger lined a triple to right field in the next at-bat, which drove all three runners home.

Allard pitched four innings, allowing four earned runs on five hits. Walker pitched 1⅔ innings, allowing three earned runs on four hits. The good news for the Phillies is there isn’t a need for a fifth starter in October after Tuesday. And with four games remaining in the regular season, there won’t be a need for a fifth starter for the rest of this month.

“We got behind early, and it’s that fifth spot in our rotation, but it was good to see [Bryce] Harper swing the bat well,” Thomson said. “[Austin] Hays had some decent at-bats. Nick [Castellanos] continues to swing the bat well. [Edmundo] Sosa made a heck of a play up the middle. So, we did some good things.”

Despite the Phillies clinching the division on Monday night, they still have goals to play for. Their magic number to clinch a first-round bye is two. The Phillies can clinch a first-round bye and home-field advantage in the NLDS with a victory over the Cubs on Wednesday and a loss by the Brewers, who are playing the Pirates.

Thomson has also said he’d like to finish the season with the best record in baseball, so the Phillies can secure home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

He has emphasized that he won’t compromise health to reach that goal, but it does give the remaining games some weight.

“We’ve just got to keep going,” Kyle Schwarber said. “We want to keep pushing to keep winning baseball games, and if we do win baseball games, there could be an opportunity where you don’t have to play in the wild-card round. You don’t want to play in that series.

“You’re going to take being in the postseason no matter what, but anything can happen [in the wild-card round]. You want to be able to avoid that as much as possible, and try to set ourselves up good.”

Tyler Gilbert pitched the eighth and ninth. He allowed three hits with two strikeouts and a hit-by-pitch over his two innings.

It was not the best offensive night for the Phillies, but as Thomson alluded to, there were some positive signs. Harper went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in the first inning, his 30th of the season. After going 30 games without a home run, the Phillies’ first baseman has hit four in the past 11 games.

Schwarber hit his 38th home run of the season in the eighth, driving in Johan Rojas to cut the Cubs’ lead to 10-4. Garrett Stubbs went 1-for-2 with an RBI bunt single and a walk. Put perhaps the biggest development was Hays, who was activated from the 10-day injured list on Tuesday afternoon.

The left fielder had not played in a game since Sept. 1 after suffering a kidney infection, but said he felt no fatigue on Tuesday night. He went 1-for-4 with a strikeout, but didn’t feel like his timing at the plate was off.

“I’m glad we were able to get me back to get some at-bats in Lehigh,” Hays said. “I was able to get eight or nine there. There was a lot of swing and miss there, but just to get in the box, get some timing off of the pitcher was really good. And then we had the day off.

“Today, I felt really good in the box, honestly. Felt like I was seeing the ball well, hit balls all over the field, I was able to drive a ball to right. So, I feel good at the plate. Now, it’s just racking up at-bats.”

The Phillies will play their series finale against the Cubs on Wednesday. Then, they’ll travel to Washington, D.C. for final regular season series against the Nationals.