CHICAGO -- The Philadelphia Phillies used an opener and changed up their batting order Wednesday, but neither move did the trick, as they dropped their eighth consecutive game, losing 7-2 to the Chicago Cubs. The eight straight losses are the team's most since a nine-game skid in 2018.
"Just not going our way right now," pitcher Taijuan Walker said afterward. "We're not executing. Just kind of in a rut. When you get in these ruts, it's hard to get out of sometimes. And right now we're just not getting out of it."
Walker was the bulk pitcher Wednesday after left-hander Kyle Backhus pitched the first inning, giving up a run on two hits. Walker didn't fare much better, giving up five runs, although only four were earned.
The Phillies were leading 2-1 in the second inning when a misplayed ball in center by Justin Crawford and second baseman Edmundo Sosa allowed the Cubs to tie the score. Philadelphia never recaptured the lead -- or scored again.
"[Crawford] called it too early and got Sosa out of there and really that's Sosa's ball," manager Rob Thomson said. "And I think that just comes with experience, playing in this ballpark with the wind and you got to really make sure that you get there."
The play was emblematic of the Phillies' recent woes, which were outdone only by the New York Mets, who snapped their own 12-game losing skid Wednesday. Now it's Philadelphia that owns the longest current losing streak in MLB.
"Yeah, it sucks," shortstop Trea Turner said. "Not having much fun in here, which is tough. This is a great game. We're lucky to play it. And when you are expected to win and you want to win and it's not happening, it's tough and not fun, but that's why we're here."
The Phillies managed nine hits but didn't earn a walk while striking out 12 times in dropping their third game of the series. The meek offensive output resembled several other games this season when opposed by a left-handed starter. Matthew Boyd was the latest to shut down the Phillies' offense. He gave up two runs while three Cubs relievers pitched a shutout the rest of the way. The Phillies are 0-9 this season when a lefty starts against them (excluding openers).
"They throw a lot of strikes," Thomson said. "Usually one of our strong suits is walking and putting ball in play and hitting home runs and chewing up pitches."
Turner added: "I feel like we get one guy on base and then he kind of dies for whatever reason. And that's just not good enough. So maybe it's a little bit of approach."
The Phillies (and Mets) are already 8½ games out of first place in the National League East as the Atlanta Braves have gotten off to a fast start. That's not the case for last year's division winner, which is searching for early-season answers.
The Phillies are not finding any right now.
"Baseball's a long season and we got a long way to go," Thomson said. "And I think there's a lot of frustration here. But at the same time, these guys know that we got a talented group. Not much is going right for us right now. And at times we're not playing well. So we just got to stay after it and keep fighting. I mean, this is a talented group."