The Phillies’ horrific tailspin continued on Saturday afternoon, as Kyle Gibson put the Phils in an early hole against the woeful Washington Nationals. Suffering a 13-4 beatdown at the hands of one of the worst teams in baseball is just the latest in a long list of failures in the Phillies’ epic collapse.
Kyle Gibson has shown all season that he isn’t deserving of an MLB roster spot, and he put the finishing touch on an abhorrent season in this one. Seven earned runs across 6.0 innings pitched brings Gibson’s season ERA to a wretched 5.05 mark. The 34-year-old was staked to a 1-0 lead in the first inning, but he did what he does best and coughed it right up.
After surrendering one run in the bottom of the first, Gibson handed Washington the game on a silver platter, allowing five runs to score in the next frame. Tom McCarthy and Ruben Amaro, Jr. noted on the broadcast that some poor defense factored into this, as Jean Segura lollygagged a routine groundball, and a bases-clearing double slipped right underneath Alec Bohm’s glove. For any other pitcher these excuses might hold some water, but Gibson doesn’t deserve the benefit of the doubt.
Kyle Gibson has put the Phillies in a position to lose all season long. On 13 May against the Dodgers he got blasted for six earned runs over only 3.2 frames. 5 June against the Angels he was lit up for five earned in 3.1 innings. Another five in 2.2 innings on 26 June against the Padres. Six more on 2 and 22 July versus the Cardinals and Cubs, respectively. He’s been awful. And yet, in the season’s final month, he’s found another level of futility.
On 2 September in San Francisco, Gibson gave up seven earned runs in only 1.2 innings of work. Then he allowed four earned over 5.0 innings six days later against the Marlins. He settled down on the 14th, holding those same Fish to only one run in 6.0 strong innings, but was right back to his losing ways six days later against the Blue Jays. The Jays rocked Gibson for a season-high 12 hits, scoring seven runs off him in 5.0 innings. It was more of the same on 25 September at home against the Braves, as Gibson handed Atlanta five runs in 5.0 innings. For those keeping track, that’s an inexcusable 9.53 ERA in 22.2 innings pitched in the month of September for Gibson, where he surrendered 39 base hits.
Saturday afternoon’s contest was the dagger in what has a real chance of being the final MLB season in Kyle Gibson’s career. With a season ERA over 5.00, Gibson has proven that he is completely incapable of getting major league hitters out at this point. Once an innings-eating sinkerballer, Gibson has turned into a batting practice pitching machine who has put yet another nail in the 2022 Phillies’ coffin.
If the Phillies succeed in their quest to sit out the postseason there will be plenty of blame to go around. In the month where it mattered most the entire team went AWOL and coughed up a seemingly secure wildcard lead. The Phillies now sit tied with the Brewers for the National League’s final playoff spot, and they own the tiebreaker, so not all hope is lost. However, win or lose, one thing has been made abundantly clear: Kyle Gibson should never wear a Phillies uniform again.