Lifeless Phillies close out May in embarrassing fashion originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Phillies ended the month of May with a performance that screamed mayday, mayday, mayday.
They seemingly overslept for a 2 p.m. matinee with the Cincinnati Reds and ended up with an 11-1 loss on the banks of the Ohio River Monday afternoon.
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Vince Velasquez' magic-carpet ride ended with a thud as he was tagged for six runs in three innings and the offense — 0 for 9 with runners in scoring position — was as lifeless as driftwood as the Phillies lost for the third straight day to fall to 2-5 on the road trip and 10-19 on the road overall.
The gory numbers are starting to stack up for this team as it heads into a treacherous month of June that features 14 games against NL East opponents and a West Coast trip that will include stops in Los Angeles and San Francisco, where the Dodgers and Giants are a combined 27 games over .500.
The Phillies have lost nine of their last 12 ballgames and have ended May a season-high four games under .500 at 25-29.
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Back on May 7, the Phillies ran a season-best winning streak to five games and were a game up in first place in the division. Since then, they are 7-14 and have fallen 4½ games back.
The Phillies better start turning it around soon or they're going to find themselves buried. They should be getting Bryce Harper and Didi Gregorius back from the injured list during the next homestand, which starts Friday.
Velasquez, who opened the season as a long man in the bullpen, had given the Phillies a nice lift at the problematic back end of the rotation. In four starts this month, he had allowed just three runs in 23 innings. He pitched six shutout innings in Miami earlier in the trip.
But Velasquez reverted to his old inconsistent ways in this start. He allowed two-run homers in the second and third innings as the Phillies fell behind early.
Max Schrock belted a two-run homer in the second and Kyle Farmer added one in the third inning. Schrock and Farmer combined for six hits and eight RBIs.
Even during his success earlier in the month, Velasquez had trouble limiting the walks. It continued again in this start. He walked three batters in the second inning and all of them hurt. One preceded Schrock's homer and one turned into a run when Tyler Naquin stroked a two-run single after Velasquez had extended the inning with a two-out walk.
Cincinnati starter Wade Miley held the Phillies to a run over six innings. He allowed five baserunners in the first two innings, but the Phillies got nothing in those frames.
The Phillies' only run came in the third inning. Jean Segura doubled, moved up on a fly ball by Rhys Hoskins and scored on a ground ball by J.T. Realmuto. Odubel Herrera had three of the Phillies' eight hits.
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