Phillies' main weaknesses before trade deadline on display in a 3-1 loss to the Yankees

Scott Lauber, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Jul 25, 2026

Published in Baseball

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PHILADELPHIA — Nine days before the trade deadline, the discussions continued on the executive level of Citizens Bank Park about the most advisable strategy for the Phillies to improve their roster.

The debate surely got more robust Saturday night.

Go ahead, take your pick of the Phillies’ most pressing need: a back-end starting pitcher, a right-handed bat, another late-inning reliever. The answer is there aren’t any wrong answers. Not after each shortcoming was exposed again in a 3-1 loss to the Yankees.

In losing their fourth consecutive game — and falling to 2-6 since returning from the All-Star break (slumber?) — the Phillies were silenced again by a left-handed starter. They lost their 11th game in a row from the No. 5 starter spot. And struggling lefty José Alvarado gave up a late home run.

Oh, and for good measure, they backed the statistical evidence that they’re the worst defensive team in baseball with two errors from third baseman Alec Bohm and a pivotal two-out pop fly to shallow left field that went through shortstop Trea Turner’s hands.

The Phillies (56-49) remain in position for the second National League wild card. But they have the look of a team that needs the kick-start that an active trade deadline can provide.

Tick, tock, Dave Dombrowski.

The Yankees took the lead in the sixth inning against the underbelly of the Phillies’ bullpen, which followed 32-year-old righty Brian Keller after three innings as a bulk pitcher in his major league debut. (More on Keller shortly.)

Don Mattingly called on lefty Kyle Backhus, just back from Triple-A, to face a left-handed pocket of the Yankees’ order. Backhus walked Austin Wells before striking out Ryan McMahon and dangerous Ben Rice.

Paul Goldschmidt lifted a pop fly, and, with his back to the infield, Turner reached out on the run to make a basket catch. But the ball fell to the ground, and, one batter later, Cody Bellinger scorched an RBI single to center field for a 2-1 Yankees lead.

Meanwhile, the Phillies managed seven hits, six against Yankees lefty Ryan Weathers even though they stacked the lineup with right-handed hitters. Entering the game, Phillies right-handed hitters had a .276 on-base percentage, worst in the majors.

The Phillies also are 5-21 from the No. 5 spot in the rotation. In their latest attempt to solve the fifth-starter riddle, they opened with lefty Tim Mayza for two innings before bringing in Keller.

It actually worked.

Well, kind of.

Mayza retired six batters in a row, then handed over a 1-0 lead. And although Keller gave up a game-tying two-out homer to Austin Wells, he acquitted himself (mostly) well by allowing just the one run on two hits in three innings.

Keller’s story is improbable. A former 39th-round pick (the draft is only 20 rounds now), he kicked around the Yankees’ farm system for most of seven years in the minors before going to Japan, where he made only three starts before blowing out his elbow. He had Tommy John surgery, missed two seasons, and hooked on with the depth-deprived Phillies on a minor league contract in May.

And now, this.

But rather than sticking with Keller for the sixth inning, Mattingly went to Backhus, the start of a bullpen relay race that included Seth Johnson, Alvarado, Jonathan Bowlan and, finally, closer Jhoan Duran in a non-save situation because he hadn’t pitched since Monday.

Alvarado, a necessary piece in the bridge to Duran, gave up a leadoff homer to Jasson Domínguez in the seventh inning to account for the final margin.