Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber Sounds Alarm With Playoffs Closing In

Kyle Schwarber did not sugarcoat the situation facing the Philadelphia Phillies after another frustrating loss.

The veteran slugger spoke with reporters Tuesday night following a 6-3 defeat to the Washington Nationals and made it clear that October baseball is anything but locked in.

“It’s going to be a grind. There’s no doubt about it. It’s not like (the playoffs are) guaranteed,” Schwarber said. “We’ve got to go out and win ballgames. We knew we had the group capable of being the team that can hold up a trophy at the end of the year. We know that. But we also have to go out and win games. I think the writing’s on the wall. We have to show up and be ready to go tomorrow. It’s only going to keep shortening up the season.”

Schwarber did his job. He went 1-for-3 with a walk, scored twice and launched his major league-leading 45th home run of the season, a solo shot in the fifth inning that briefly put Philadelphia ahead 3-2.

The rest of the lineup managed little else. The Phillies collected just five hits total and went quiet against Washington’s bullpen after the fifth.

Philadelphia has now dropped eight of its last 12 games and sits at 83-68. The club remains in the National League wild-card mix but has watched its cushion shrink with only 11 games left on the schedule.

The timing of the slump could hardly be worse. All-Star left-hander Jesús Luzardo was placed on the 15-day injured list Tuesday with left shoulder inflammation, a move retroactive to Sept. 12.

Luzardo, who is 14-5 with a 2.87 ERA and 221 strikeouts in 29 starts, is eligible to return Sept. 27, the final day of the regular season. An MRI showed no structural damage, and the team has not ruled him out of a possible postseason role, but his status remains uncertain.

Schwarber, 33, has dealt with his own physical issues. A back problem that first flared in late June has lingered. He hit only three homers and drove in seven runs in July before bouncing back with seven homers and 20 RBI in August.

This month he has five home runs in 13 games, but he is slashing .200/.293/.500 and has posted an OPS below .800 for a third straight month. For the season he is batting .239 with 45 homers, 95 RBI and an .875 OPS.

He pointed to the rotation’s body of work and the need for everyone to step forward with Luzardo sidelined.

“Look at our starters and the way that they’ve been throwing the ball the whole year,” Schwarber said. “Obviously, it’s going to get harder, but I think we’re all going to need to step up on it. We need to pick everyone up, right? Like (Luzardo) picked us up for a long time.”

Interim manager Don Mattingly said the offense simply did not create enough traffic Tuesday.

“We just weren’t able to … we didn’t do anything, honestly,” Mattingly said. “You know, we didn’t do enough to … we didn’t really create traffic. We didn’t have a lot of chances.”

The Phillies finish the two-game set with the Nationals on Wednesday night before heading to New York for four games against the Mets. After that they return home for a six-game stretch against Milwaukee and Tampa Bay.

The Chicago Cubs hold the top Wild Card spot at 84-68. San Diego sits at 82-69, and Arizona is 80-72 and still within striking distance.

Philadelphia has the talent to hold a trophy, Schwarber keeps saying. The next two weeks will show whether the Phillies can still play like that team.