“No excuse for him to still be here” - Phillies fans vent frustration as Gregory Soto struggles in another loss against Padres 

Wednesday’s game was a 5-2 defeat for the Philadelphia Phillies against the San Diego Padres at Citizens Bank Park. After winning the first two games, the Phillies lost the final game of their three-game series with the Padres.

Their pitching staff allowed five runs on 12 hits with one walk while striking out six batters. Ranger Suarez pitched for six innings allowing one run on six hits and recording four strikeouts.

Orion Kerkering replaced Suarez in the seventh inning and gave up one run on two hits. After Seranthony Dominguez took the mound in the eighth, he gave up two hits and one walk loading all the bases and was shortly replaced by Gregory Soto.

Soto allowed Kyle Higashioka to hit a triple allowing the base-loaded Padres to score three runs. So far in the 2024 season, he has recorded one win and three losses with an ERA of 4.43.

Phillies fans shared their reactions to the team's loss on X/Twitter, with many blaming Gregory Soto and demanding his removal:

“Yea Soto simply has to go. No excuse for him to still be here,” a fan said.

“I don’t wanna see Soto in a uniform anymore. Yall better be cooking up that DFA tweet,” another fan said.

“So at what point do we fire Rob Thomson. everyone on earth knew soto was giving up multiple runs except him,” another fan wrote.

Several other fans continued to share their reactions, with some remaining optimistic about their series win:

“At least we got the Series win!” a comment read.

“We won the series but this game was horrible besides Harper,” another comment read.

“People you win some you lose some. It’s just one game,” one fan wrote.

After replacing Soto, Jose Ruiz also allowed a hit in the one inning he pitched. First baseman Bryce Harper went 2-for-4 bringing in two RBIs for the Philadelphia Phillies.

The San Diego Padres broke their losing streak with the win, avoiding a 10th straight loss.

Phillies manager Rob Thomson satisfied with series win and hopeful for future consistency

The Phillies lead the NL East with a 49-25 record, bouncing back with a series win after losing their last two series. Discussing their performance, Phillies manager Rob Thomson said (via MLB.com):

“I think it’s well deserved for everybody really. I think looking forward to it. It’s good to get back on winning side of the series. You know, difficult loss today. But we still won the series. Hopefully that’s a trend.”

The Phillies face the Arizona Diamondbacks next on Friday at Citizens Bank Park to start a three-game series.