Again, the Phillies fall short in the playoffs after a successful regular season. For some strange reason, the Phillies’ top three hitters – Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper – have not performed well at all in the last three postseasons. If they want to make it to the World Series again in their careers, they better figure out what the heck is going on.
The Phillies lost 2-1 in painful fashion in 11 innings with a bases-loaded, two-out ground ball hit back to pitcher Orion Kerkering. He then panicked and threw the ball back to home plate when the easier play would have been to throw to first base. Kerkering should not get the blame for this ending the season since the offense really is to blame with their weak showing.
The Phillies’ pitching staff did a great job in this four-game series, but it wasn't enough. Disappointingly for the Phillies, the same can be said for the Dodgers pitching too. This made for a difficult offensive series, and the Phillies hitters didn't show up. At this point, the Dodgers are going to be the favorite to repeat as World Series champions, which hasn't happened in 25 years. I guess I will rooting for them from here.
The Eagles also had a disappointing performance, losing to the New York Giants by the score of 34-17. The defense did not play well and one of their best players, Jalen Carter, did not play because of a foot injury. I also think the schedule did not help the Eagles in this game because they had no real practices after the loss to the Denver Broncos on Sunday.
I think the offense relied too much on the passing game. I wonder how hurt Saquon Barkley really is. Maybe they shouldn't play him if they are not going to use him much. I hope the Eagles can use this mini bye week to get healthy and get their act together as they get ready to play the Minnesota Vikings. There’s a possibility they will be playing against their former starting quarterback Carson Wentz who signed with Minnesota to be the backup but is now starting because their first quarterback is hurt.
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A 2002 Cape grad and 2007 UD grad, Lewes resident Sumner Spence is one of the Cape area's biggest sports fans. Although he’s used a wheelchair his entire life, he has lived vicariously through his sports-playing father, brother, and friends, who gave him his love of sports. He hopes to provide new and interesting perspectives on the sports stories and issues of the day. Email Sumner at sumspence@gmail.com.
