Half bad: Athletics 18, Phillies 3

You could kind of see this coming. Coming off an emotional sweep of the Dodgers, all that stood between the Phillies and the All-Star break was a three-game series against the last place Oakland A’s. A letdown was possible, and a letdown is what we got. The Phillies had a lifeless showing on Friday before the bats powered them to victory on Saturday. A win on Sunday would have sent them into the break with another series victory, but their pitching staff wasn’t up to the task. They allowed eight home runs en route to an 18-3 shellacking.

The game started off well enough. Opener Orion Kerkering pitched a scoreless first inning, and Trea Turner’s torrid streak continued as he cleared the left…