John Kruk Called Phillies Offense 'Painful to Watch' Amid Terrible Astros Series
John Kruk Called Phillies Offense 'Painful to Watch' Amid Terrible Astros Series originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The Philadelphia Phillies wrapped up a series against the Houston Astros on Thursday, and it went terribly. While there weren't any injuries or brutal errors, it was just an overall awful performance from the offense. The Phillies scored one total run and didn't do so until the eighth inning of the finale.
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During that game, former Phillies slugger John Kruk shared his reaction to the Phillies' lackluster performance and blasted the team for their poor play.
Kruk posted on Twitter/X, "Damn this is awful." A little while later, Kruk followed his first post up with another comment, specifically calling out the offense, "Love the pitching, but the offense is painful to watch."
It's hard to blame Kruk when the Phillies' offense, through three games and 27 innings, scored just one run, and it was on a sacrifice fly. But, as Kruk alluded to, the Phillies' pitching was great.
The starters and the bullpen during the Astros series allowed five runs total, yet the Phillies were swept. Ranger Suarez, Christopher Sanchez and Zack Wheeler all had great performances but were either on the hook for the loss or had a no-decision since the offense couldn't get anything going.
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When the Phillies did score in the third and final game, it wasn't meaningless, as it tied the game 1-1. Kruk's reaction was felt by plenty of Phillies fans: "Holy (expletive) we scored!!!"
Former Philadelphia Phillies first baseman John KrukEric Hartline-Imagn Images
Unfortunately, the very next half-inning, the Astros retook the lead. Kruk shared his reaction to the Astros retaking the lead: "Son of a (expletive), that tie game didn't last long."
The series against the Astros went about as poorly as it could've gone. Despite great pitching performances, the Phillies' offense was nowhere to be found. Every run the Astros scored was a mountain the team had to climb, and they couldn't manage to do so more than once.
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Related: Phillies' Rob Thomson Gives Positive Injury Update on Bryce Harper
Related: Phillies' Ranger Suárez Joins Tarik Skubal as Only Pitchers With Incredible Feat in 2025
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 26, 2025, where it first appeared.
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