The trade deadline won’t save the Phillies. Trea Turner and the rest must do it themselves.

It was one of those losses that felt a lot worse than it probably was. It was the first day of a homestand, the day after an extra-innings win snapped a four-game skid. The weather was nice; the stands were packed, and the team’s fifth starter was pitching brilliantly. Look at any team that manages to build an extended stretch of momentum during a Major League Baseball season and you’ll find a bunch of victories like this. Except, these were the Phillies.

The best teams turn games like these into forgettable wins. In the hands of the Phillies, they become a candidate for the Darwin Awards.

Their 3-2 loss to the Orioles on Monday night wasn’t a baseball game. It was a deliberate attempt to test the bounds of their fan base’s devotion.

Would you still love me if I belly-flopped on the foul line?

Would you still love me if I booted two balls at short and got kicked out of the game?

Would you still love me if I started Josh Harrison, Jake Cave, Garrett Stubbs, and Johan Rojas on the same day?

» READ MORE: Phillies’ offense keeps scuffling as frustrations boil over for Trea Turner in 3-2 loss to Orioles

Watching the Phillies on nights like Monday is like watching someone with a split brain stick their hand in a garbage disposal. You know that everything will be fine as long as the other hand doesn’t touch the switch. But, well, they ain’t got no corpus callosum!

If you think that is some gruesome imagery, you probably didn’t see the eighth inning on Monday. I need to repeat these facts slowly and in the proper order.

1) The Phillies entered the bottom of the eighth down by a run.

2) They sent a total five batters to the plate.

3) Four of those batters reached base, three via single, one via walk.

4) The Phillies scored one run.

Again: Four batters reached base, a fifth made an out, and they scored exactly one run.

Everyone wants to talk about what happened in the following half-inning, when Kyle Schwarber came up an inch short of making a diving catch of what turned out to be Colton Cowser’s double down the left field line. A pivotal moment, sure. According to StatCast, Schwarber’s route was nearly identical to the one your uncle took that Fourth of July when he sprinted toward the pool and yelled, “Hit me with a brewski!”

Look, Schwarber’s defense in left field is the kind of thing that a good team should be able to live with. It’s no different from Pat Burrell in 2008 or Raúl Ibañez in 2009. The game was lost an inning before. Rojas didn’t steal third on a 3-2 count with Schwarber at the plate against a janky lefty. He then got doubled up anyway on a lineout by Edmundo Sosa, who was in the game because Trea Turner was ejected two innings earlier after he struck out looking with two out and a man on second. Two batters later, Nick Castellanos singled home Schwarber, but the inning ended as Bryce Harper was thrown out at home trying to score from first.

» READ MORE: Trea Turner’s struggles in his first season with the Phillies extend to his defense

It was a momentum-crushing sequence. It’s why the Phillies are where they are. They aren’t in a bad place. Technically, they entered Tuesday on pace for 85 wins. But they are 48-37 since April 16, and at that pace they would finish with 88 wins. The latter of those two will almost certainly be good enough to claim one of the three wild-card spots up for grabs in the National League. The first of them might, too.

The rest of the National League is collapsing around them. The Diamondbacks are 13-22 since the Phillies swept them in mid-June. They’ve lost five straight and nine of 11 and 13 of 17. The Marlins snapped their eight-game losing streak but have lost 13 of their last 19 thanks in large part to a 5.25 team ERA. The Reds just won five straight, but before that they lost six straight. They are 6-8 in their last 14.

The primary reason to believe in the Phillies right now is also the worst thing about them. They are who they are. They’ve been this team for a year-and-a-half now. Maddening in a way that only something you love can be. They’ve earned the benefit of the doubt.

At the same time, it sure would be nice if they could end up being something more than what we already know them to be. The trade deadline isn’t going to change that. They are poised for a Dave Dombrowski special. Trade two or three minor leaguers who you’ve already given up on for two or three guys who can maybe do two or three things that turn two or three losses into two or three wins. It’s what Dombrowski has done before and it’s what he should do now.

Any real change will need to come from within. This may be a lost season for Turner. Hectic offseasons and cross-country moves will do that. The one hope is that a night like Monday is a catharsis of sorts, and a chance to damn the torpedoes and stop thinking so much. Same goes for Aaron Nola. And Schwarber.

These next couple of weeks are a big moment for Rob Thomson. His team has another gear that it has not been able to find. They found it last postseason. It’d be nice not to fret about getting there.

» READ MORE: Why keeping Johan Rojas in the lineup could help crystalize the Phillies’ trade deadline needs