Phillies have a major lefty pitching problem amid bleak .138 average

The Philadelphia Phillies are trying to win it all this season, and yet, they're currently struggling in one area that might be their downfall.

Through the opening two weeks of the MLB season, the Phillies are 6-5 and have a decent chance to win the division. But there's one major issue still plaguing the team right now.

As Matt Gelb of The Athletic notes, the Phillies have some major issues facing left-handed pitching. With a .138 batting average against lefties so far, the Phillies' offense is a massive liability against lefties.

Phillies have major lefty pitching problem

"Two weeks into this season, the club's most evident weakness appears whenever they face a lefty," Gelb writes. "It's not just Kemp or Sosa, who are platoon players deployed only when a lefty pitches. The Phillies, as a team, have hit .138/.242/.213 against left-handed starters."

This is a massive issue for the Phillies. They're hitting just .138 against left-handed starting pitchers. There are some reasons for this, but the platoon isn't the only reason.

Otto Kemp and Edmundo Sosa have struggled at times this season, even though Sosa had a clutch game-tying hit in the ninth inning this season.

But it's not just those platoon players. Bryce Harper (1-11), Trea Turner (2-11), Alec Bohm (0-7), and Adolis Garcia (1-8) are all struggling against lefty pitching.

To put these struggles into perspective, last season, the Phillies had a .723 OPS against left-handed starting pitchers (12th in MLB). This season, they're ranked 29th with a brutal .455 OPS.

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It's not just their lefty hitters, either; the right-handed hitters who are supposed to have the advantage over these lefty starters are also struggling.

These are struggles that will keep the Phillies from making any headway in the regular season, let alone the postseason.

Philadelphia hitters need to figure this out ASAP; otherwise, they're not going to have much success this season with some of the best pitchers in MLB being lefties.

This issue needs to be resolved, and fast. Hopefully, these struggles will be looked back on as an early-season blip on the radar and not a warning sign for the disaster looming for the season.

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