Harper, Phillies lament early playoff exit: 'We just gotta be better'

Bryce Harper and the Philadelphia Phillies are searching for answers after falling short of a championship again.

"We just gotta be better," Harper said after Wednesday's NLDS Game 4 loss to the New York Mets eliminated the Phillies from the postseason, according to MLB.com. "Gotta finish the job. Obviously, we got a great group of guys in here; we have a really good core. Just wasn't able to get the job done.

"I wish I could have done more," he added.

Francisco Lindor led the Mets to a 4-1 victory with a go-ahead grand slam off Carlos Estévez in the sixth inning. The dramatic home run punctuated a rally off a Phillies bullpen that faltered throughout the series.

Philadelphia also struggled to hit this October, scoring five runs across its three losses. The club ran into similar issues last year when its bats dried up in the NLCS against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

"I definitely wasn't my best self, and that doesn't feel good. But it is what it is," Alec Bohm said, per MLB.com. "It's a hard game."

Philadelphia's early elimination is a disappointment for a team that looked like a serious contender after winning the NL East - over the Mets, no less - with an impressive 95 wins.

"It's not how you start, it's how you finish," Nick Castellanos said, according to MLB.com.

"We started fantastic. We were the best team in baseball in the first half, and everybody in baseball and all the fans were saying, 'This is our year.' I don't know if expectations put added pressure, but one thing I know is that we didn't cross the finish line."

Philadelphia hasn't won the World Series since 2008.