Kerkering struggles as Phillies blow early lead, fail to sweep Marlins

The sun was shining, birthday festivities for the Phanatic were ongoing all afternoon, the offense was flowing early, Jesús Luzardo allowed one earned run in seven innings and it looked like the Phillies were on their way to their second series sweep of the season.

It was all going well … until it wasn't.

Orion Kerkering entered the game with a two-run lead in the eighth inning and gave up singles to the first two batters he faced. He settled, collected a pair of outs, and then gave up a three-run home run to Javier Sanoja.

It was the first home run of Sanoja's career and the first lead the Marlins saw in the weekend series at Citizens Bank Park.

The Phillies went on to lose 7-5 in extra innings in the series finale, wrapping up a 4-3 homestand.

Pro: The club has gone 11 straight series at home without a loss, dating back to late July of last season.

Con (and it's glaring): Sunday was a very winnable game — one that should've ended in the opposite column. Instead, we saw a strong outing by the starting pitcher and an early offensive jump washed away from the bullpen.

"This one is gone," Rob Thomson said after the loss. "It's in the past. We can't control what we did today, we just gotta move forward and control what we can control."

The reality is, it's one loss in April. The Phillies have a near identical record through 22 games this season as they had in the previous (2024: 14-8, 2025: 13-9).

It's not the be-all and end-all — it was just a game they knowingly should've had.

There's time to build off what works and adjust what doesn't.

The offensive stretch during the seven-game homestand, for example, is something the Phillies can use as a launch pad. Especially when it comes to the top of the order.

Since Bryson Stott has moved to the leadoff spot, there's been a different type of early aggression from the lineup. What was initially a change to protect Bryce Harper by moving Kyle Schwarber to cleanup, turned into a lethal trio to open games.

Stott, Trea Turner and Harper all had explosive weekends, combining for 15 hits, 11 RBI, seven walks and five stolen bases. They all crossed home plate safely before the Marlins could register two outs on the day.

You follow it up with Schwarber, who extended his on base streak to 28 games? And then Castellanos, who is averaging .302 this season?

It's a lineup of consistency and power — and when it's combined with a solid outing from the starting pitcher — that's a recipe that's going to bring success more times than not.

That just wasn't the case Sunday.

Luzardo made his first start against his former club of three years and went seven innings, allowing eight hits and two runs, only one was earned. It was just "another start" for him.

He ended the day at 88 pitches but 21 of them came in his final inning.

If it wrapped up a little cleaner? Maybe Kerkering doesn't come into the game and the end result would've been different.

So, chalk it up on the "what if" list for the season.

Maybe we should all just take a slice out of Thomson's postgame press conference and "control what we can control."

… And also a slice from the Phanatic's birthday cake. After the roller-coaster in the final two innings, we've earned it.