Former Philadelphia Phillies reliever Ricky Bottalico blasts Brandon Marsh and Johan Rojas, calling for the Phillies to make a change in center field amid their struggles.

Walker and Joe Ross gave up a total of five runs after the Phillies took a one-run lead into the sixth inning.

PHILADELPHIA — Ian Happ homered twice, including a two-run shot in the sixth inning that rallied the Chicago Cubs to an 8-4 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday night. Dansby Swanson, Happ and Michael Busch each hit a solo shot off rookie Phillies starter Mick Abel.

Truth is, the Phillies, despite winning, need to be better. They may have won the National League pennant in 2022, reached the NL Championship Series in 2023 and won their first East Division title since 2011 last year. But none of that will happen again if improvements don’t occur.

Otto Kemp recorded the first three hits of his major-league career Monday night, helping power a 4-3 Phillies victory in 11 innings.

The Phillies have already been rumored to be aggressive buyers at the trade deadline; however, their outfield problems could be solved internally. Analyst R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports recently speculated that the Phillies’ no. 3 prospect (no. 53 overall), Justin Crawford, could fill the void.

The Phillies are going to need to figure out ways to generate offense without their best hitter and the early returns have been ugly. They were shut down again Sunday and swept in Pittsburgh.