Rob Thomson sounds fed up with Taijuan Walker as playoff roster spot hangs in balance

The Philadelphia Phillies might've clinched their division, but Tuesday's game against the Chicago Cubs still had a lot of meaning. The No. 1 seed and home-field advantage throughout the NL postseason is still very much on the line, and a win would've gone a long way in helping them secure that spot.

The stakes were high, but expectations from Phillies fans were low because the No. 5 spot in their rotation was scheduled to pitch. This time, manager Rob Thomson opted to use an opener, Tanner Banks, while having long relievers who have struggled in the rotation like Taijuan Walker and Kolby Allard available in relief. That plan did not work at all.

Banks delivered a scoreless first inning and the Phillies even took a 1-0 lead on Bryce Harper's 30th home run of the season. The southpaw struggled in his second inning of work, though, departing with bases loaded and only one out. In came Walker, and out came the lead.

Walker, in predictable fashion, issued back-to-back bases-loaded walks to give the Cubs the lead, then after recording the second out of the inning (with a run crossing), gave up back-to-back singles to plate three more runs. Overall, the Cubs scored six runs in the second inning, quickly sucking the life out of a jam-packed Citizens Bank Park. Three of the runs were those that Walker inherited, and the other three were Walker's earned runs.

This was just the latest poor showing in what has been a lost season for the 32-year-old. Phillies fans lost their patience with Walker a long time ago, and now it sounds like Rob Thomson might be just as fed up.

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Rob Thomson sounds almost as fed up as Phillies fans are with Taijuan Walker after another brutal outing

Walker was able to complete a scoreless third inning, only relinquishing a double, but struggled again in the fourth, issuing a walk and double before being taken out of the game in favor of Allard. His final line was almost as ugly as his performance, as he allowed three runs (while allowing the three runners he inherited to score) on four hits, issuing three walks and only recording one strikeout in 1.2 innings in relief. Without Allard stranding his runners in the fourth, it would've looked even worse.

Walker's ERA now sits at 7.10 in 19 appearances (15 starts) and 83.2 innings pitched. His 7.10 ERA is nearly half a run higher than the second-worst pitcher with at least 80 innings of work, and that's Reid Detmers, a pitcher who has spent much of the year in the minors despite being on the lowly Los Angeles Angels.

When discussing the loss, Thomson was quick to blame one particular reason.

“We got behind early. It’s that fifth spot in our rotation,” Thomson said.

The Phillies have one of the best rotations in the majors with Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Ranger Suarez, and Cristopher Sanchez. The No. 5 spot in the rotation is why they're not the clear-cut best in the game. They've tried mixing and matching in that spot since removing Walker from the rotation permanently at the beginning of September but have had no luck.

“It’s kinda putting him in a tough spot. He’s never done it. But we’ve got to find out. I told him before the game it could be a dirty inning and he was fine with it. He got ahead, just right now he can’t put people away.”

Thomson inserting Walker, a pitcher with very little experience working out of the bullpen, is a tough spot, but it's not as if he's unaccustomed to pitching with the bases loaded. He should know that the one thing he cannot do is walk people, yet he issued back-to-back free passes to hand the Cubs the lead on a silver platter.

As Thomson said, Walker cannot put anyone away right now. If we're being honest, this has been an issue all season, as evidenced by his 15.2 percent K-rate, a career-worst. He has just 58 strikeouts in 83.2 innings of work. Only two pitchers have fewer, with at least 80 innings under their belt.

With Walker pitching as poorly as he has and having the inability to put anyone away, whether or not he's going to make their postseason roster has to be a question. He can provide length, but based on how he has pitched, he's more likely to put whatever game he enters completely out of reach than give them any value as an innings eater.

Thankfully, postseason rotations are slimmed down to three or four pitchers depending on the round, so Walker won't be needed to start games barring unforeseen occurrences giving Phillies fans and Thomson reason to breathe and get over Tuesday's loss.