Over the weekend, there was one constant at Citizens Bank Park.

You could clearly hear the boos. If you were there or you listened closely, you could hear the “Let’s Go Flyers” chants.

However, there is plenty wrong all-around with the Phillies, as the team is underachieving.

Through 21 games, the fans are certainly restless with the 8-13 Phillies. They have been a combination of bad luck and bad baseball.

Two fielding flubs cost them the game Saturday, and a dribbler to third led to the loss on Sunday. The Phils have struck out 179 times, or roughly 23 percent of their at-bats.

With this 2-7 stretch — losing five straight — the Phils have now lost four homestands. They lost a total of three homestands in all of 2025.

The numbers can continue, and yes, it is just 21 games into the season. Another factor working in their favor is the parity in the National League, as the Dodgers, Padres and now Braves have separated themselves from the pack.

In this version of the Behind the Plate column, I will look at the state of the Phillies, as well as some history of the cleanup position, and briefly review the career of a Northern Lehigh legend.

Movers and Shakers ... Closer Jhoan Duran has a strained oblique, but should be back soon. But 35-year-old catcher J.T. Realmuto suddenly has a back issue, and that may be a problem.

Remove Kyle Schwarber’s seven homers and 14 RBIs, and there isn’t much left offensively besides Harper’s four homers and 11 RBIs.

Justin Crawford’s average dipped under .300, and the fleet-footed outfielder has just one stolen base after he swiped 46 at Lehigh Valley last season and 145 in his minor-league career. It might be time to move Crawford to the leadoff spot to better utilize his speed.

Is the Skipper to Blame? ... Rob Thomson pulled starter Andrew Painter when he got into trouble in the fifth after 84 pitches. Tim Mayza couldn’t shut the door.

Okay, it was a cold night, but shouldn’t Painter have been allowed to try and pitch his way out of the jam. This could be considered another one of “Topper’s” in-game mishandlings. His mundane approach finally may be wearing thin.

By the Numbers ... Ironically, it was the Braves who started slowly last season at 8-13, and the Phillies began the season with a 13-8 record. The Phillies have a .176 average against left-handed pitching, last in the majors. They have swiped 10 bases, which is tied with the Mets for 20th. The Phils entered Sunday’s game with a .224 team average, placing them 25th overall.

Four Needs More ... Among the Phillies’ issues, one constant one has been the cleanup spot.

Presumably, Adolis Garcia was going to be the solution, as he was a staple in Texas. But the Phils decided to start the season with Alec Bohm, and it never worked.

Bohm hit a miserable .186 in the four hole and Brandon Marsh replaced him. Marsh was 3-for-12 in a three-game series before he was replaced by Garcia.

Over his first six games there, Garcia went 4-for-18 with seven strikeouts and four walks. For the season, Garcia is hitting .208 with two homers, five RBIs and 23 strikeouts in 72 at-bats.

In the Wheelhouse ... Zack Wheeler made what was his presumed final start at Double-A Reading on a chilly Sunday afternoon.

Wheeler allowed six hits, four runs, two walks, two home runs and struck four in four innings over 77 pitches. The Phillies envisioned him throwing 90 pitches in the outing, and his velocity was reportedly in the low 90s.

He is currently scheduled to pitch for the Phillies next weekend in Atlanta.

Poll I ... In a recent Times News Sports Facebook poll, the question was posed as to who should hit cleanup for the Phillies among Marsh, Bohm, Harper and Garcia.

Marsh received an overwhelming 87 percent of the vote with Harper at a measly seven percent and Garcia at a paltry six percent. Bohm didn’t receive any votes.

Poll II ... At the time of this writing, this Facebook poll was only available for a few days.

It posed the question on whether Thomson should be fired for the start.

In the early returns, 54 percent of the pollsters want Thomson out, while 36 percent want him to stay in the dugout. Ten percent didn’t care.

Feel free to consider voting, and I will update the total in the next column.

Readers Write

A Solid Marsh

Dear Jeff,

As far as who should hit cleanup, Marsh is the only one who is hitting in the clutch so far. Bohm needs a head check with all the drama in his personal life. Garcia is definitely not back to his power form, and Harper is on a little hit streak but he needs to stay where he is.

Hopefully, Marsh stays hot and Harper continues to hit. If Harper does, he has protection with Marsh behind him.

Melissa Hager

Lehighton

Who Was That Man? ... Rookie Felix Reyes made a big splash when he hit a homer in his first at-bat Saturday night, but he wasn’t back in the lineup Sunday.

It will be interesting how the Phillies utilize Reyes, who was the Eastern League MVP with Reading last season with his .335 average, 15 homers and 13 steals.

Walk the Line ... Taijuan Walker has seen his final days as a Phillies’ starter, except for emergencies. Walker has a 1-3 record and a 9.16 ERA over four starts.

More importantly, Walker has a league-worst 24.95 ERA in his first innings, allowing 11 runs on 12 hits, three homers and five walks. Walker will pitch in relief of an opener next Wednesday.

Walker is in the final year of his four-year, $72 million deal.

By the way, ex-Phil Walker Buehler is 1-1 with a 4.58 ERA in four starts.

Cleaning It Up ... Since the 1960s, some of the overall best cleanup hitters by numbers of games were Eddie Murray (2,041), Fred McGriff (1,826), Willie McCovey (1,622), Willie Stargell (1,534), Dave Winfield (1,484), Albert Belle (1,448), Frank Robinson (1,409) and Tony Perez (1,401).

The “clean-up king” was Lou Gehrig, who had the most RBIs from the position with 1,515. Hank Aaron had 5,126 plate appearances from the No. 4 spot, with 261 of his 755 homers there.

Phillies’ Fours ... Over the years, some of the Phillies’ more productive cleanup hitters were Greg Luzinski, Pat Burrell, Ryan Howard, Dick Allen, Johnny Callison and Del Ennis.

Those Swinging A’s ... No, they are not the dynasty of the 70s, but the A’s (11-11) ended the week tied with Texas atop the American League West.

This is the first time the A’s have been in first place since the COVID-shortened 2020 season when they won the West with a 36-24 record. Prior to that, they won the division in 2013.

I know diehard A’s fan and sports editor Patrick Matsinko is enjoying every moment.

Scrapbook ... In each column, I will look back at a former local standout on the diamond.

Frank Carazo became a household baseball name at Northern Lehigh, coaching the baseball team for 31 years, and also successfully led the football team for 16 seasons. He played for Palmerton in high school.

During his tenure, Carazo compiled 13 winning seasons and 14 league-winning seasons accumulating 273 total wins, in leading the Bulldogs to three Centennial League titles.

The Bulldogs also played in the district playoffs 12 times, finishing second to Whitehall and Pottsville, respectively, in 1984 and 1985. The 1985 team missed going to the final four of the state playoffs, losing to Coughlin High School 11-6.

One of Carazo’s most memorable games was when his son, Marc, drove in the winning run for Palmerton in his final high school game against his father’s team.

Carazo was an English and Reading teacher in the Slatington/Northern Lehigh School District from 1971 until his retirement in 2003.

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