Orion Kerkering sat in front of his locker inside a mostly empty visitors’ clubhouse late Friday night at Citi Field. He had started the sixth inning of a one-run game against the Mets, but five batters later, he surrendered a three-run home run to Juan Soto to send the Phillies to a 6-3 loss. The Phils (85-69) are tied with the Cubs and Padres for the No. 1 NL Wild Card spot with eight games to play. “Just a rough last couple months,” Kerkering said. And time is running out. The Phillies have issues as the postseason approaches. Jesús Luzardo is on the 15-day injured list because of inflammation in his left shoulder, and nobody knows when he will pitch again. The offense followed a tantalizing August with a disappointing September. They had just six hits on Friday, and are tied for 26th in MLB this month in OPS (.671). But the bullpen might be the Phillies’ greatest concern. The bridge from starting pitcher to closer Jhoan Duran has been shaky for months. And now, right-hander Jonathan Bowlan is sidelined with a “mild” right groin strain. The Phillies hope he will be back before the end of the regular season, but only time will tell. It’s why Kerkering’s struggles have been such a disappointment. He has allowed a run in seven of his last eight appearances for an 8.64 ERA (eight earned runs in 8 1/3 innings). He has an 8.83 ERA (18 earned runs in 18 1/3 innings) in 21 appearances since July 22. “Not sure,” Kerkering said, when asked about it. “Talking to \[pitching coach\
