High Hopes: A Phillies Podcast

Will They Ever Score Another Run?

·44 min·4 clips
Jack Fritz and James Seltzer confront the Phillies' 20-inning scoreless streak and fan mockery of their podcast.
The episode opens with the hosts addressing the Phillies' offensive struggles, noting a 20-inning scoreless streak and fan frustration. They delve into lineup issues, criticizing players like Alec Bohm and Trey Turner for poor performance and lack of development. The discussion highlights the team's statistical rankings near the bottom of the league in metrics like OPS+. Jack Fritz expresses particular frustration with Turner's first-pitch swings, calling it the worst experience in Philadelphia sports. They analyze the hitting infrastructure, suggesting coach Kevin Long's methods feel outdated compared to the pitching development under Caleb Cotham. The hosts then shift to pitching, focusing on manager Rob Thomson's decision to leave Aaron Nola in to face Rafael Devers, which resulted in a home run and is labeled a massive mistake. They review other pitchers, including Cristopher Sánchez's velocity dip and Zack Wheeler's reduced fastball speed, raising concerns about his effectiveness. Prospects like Justin Crawford and minor league updates are mentioned, with skepticism about immediate impacts. The episode concludes with a look ahead at the upcoming series against the Diamondbacks, maintaining a tone of cautious pessimism about the team's direction.

As heard by us

A Phillies scoring drought becomes a sharp, restless debate about weak contact, defensive value, and fading trust.

High Hopes turns a quiet Phillies offense and a one-of-three result into a tense, immediate debate about how much faith this lineup has earned.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

You want Phillies frustration with defensive joy and a lot of questions about where the next run comes from.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →
Listen to the show on