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Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Taijuan Walker has not been at his best as of late. He has struggled to get outs, go deep into games, and stop opposing teams from scoring runs.
He has yet to go into the sixth inning in his last five starts, which all resulted in losses. Walker has become a liability on the mound during a time when Philadelphia is trying to close out a division championship.
Following his latest start, things got to be too much for the hard-throwing righty. He deactivated both his Instagram and X account, per Dugout Report.
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Social media can take its toll on even the average human being. It is hard to imagine what a professional athlete can go through on those apps after having a tough spell.
Baseball fans took to Instagram to react to the situation. While some had his back, you could imagine why he deactivated with some of these other comments.
"Homie prob getting death threats and racist comments in his DM" - one fan said.
"Phillies are broken beyond repair" - said another.
"BP everytime he hits the mound" - said another.
It is tough to perform at your best when you are surrounded by so much negativity. However, Philadelphia fans are known for being relentless and not letting their players catch a break.
"Dude absolutely sucks at pitching" - said another.
"As he should. They shouldn't have brought him back" - said another.
"I mean it was a brutal contract for a bum" - said another.
Hopefully, Taijuan Walker can pick himself back up and get back to being a reliable starter. This is not the time for a pitcher to lose all of their confidence as we enter the final month of the regular season.
The Phillies need Taijuan Walker to bounce back
The Phillies cannot afford to see Taijuan Walker continue to go through this slump. While they hold the lead in the National League East, the Atlanta Braves are starting to catch up.
They cannot afford to give the ball to Walker if he cannot get past the fifth inning. Especially not if they want to make another magical postseason run like they have done the past two seasons.
Luckily, they got Ranger Suarez back off the IL. He started the game on Saturday against the Kansas City Royals and should provide a boost to the rotation.
