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Slumping Phillies stinking like Fish right now | Extra Innings

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Carlos Santana came up with one of the Phillies' four hits in Monday's 3-1 loss to Miami.
Carlos Santana came up with one of the Phillies' four hits in Monday's 3-1 loss to Miami.Read moreBrynn Anderson / AP Photo

If the Phillies fall in an empty stadium, does it make a sound? Sure does. That was definitely a thud you heard after the Phillies offense was marked absent again in a 3-1 loss Monday to last-place Miami at Marlins Stadium. They managed just four hits and a single run, on a second-inning home run by Asdrubal Cabrera. It was a missed opportunity to gain ground on the Atlanta Braves, who lost at home, 8-2, to the Boston Red Sox. If the Phillies do not win the next two against Miami, their season could be swimming with those fish in the Marlins Stadium tanks behind home plate.

You're signed up to get this newsletter in your inbox every weekday during the Phillies season. If you like what you're reading, tell your friends it's free to sign up here. I want to know what you think, what we should add, and what you want to read, so send me feedback by email or on Twitter @brookob. Thank you for reading.

—  Bob Brookover  (extrainnings@philly.com)

Phillies’ batting disorder

Phillies manager Gabe Kapler has not used the same batting order in consecutive games since Aug. 6-7, and Monday in Miami, he left arguably his best hitter, Rhys Hoskins, out of the lineup for the first time since June 8.

"I'm not sure consistency of a lineup leads to good results all the time," Kapler said. "You look at some of the lineups that have been mixing and matching across baseball, a lot of them — the ones that have been mixed up most — are the ones that have been most successful."

Kapler has used 113 different lineups this season, which ranks ninth in the National League among different combinations. The Cubs had used 125 lineups through Sunday and were first in the league in runs per game, and the Dodgers had used a league-high 133 and were third in the league in runs per game. The Phillies rank 11th in the NL in runs per game.

The Phillies' biggest problem right now is that most of their lineup has gone cold. Here's a look at some individual batting averages during the team's 4-11 stretch that has left them four games behind the Braves:

  1. Cesar Hernandez (.182, 10 for 55 with one extra-base hit)

  2. Rhys Hoskins (.222, 12 for 52 with four extra-base hits)

  3. Odubel Herrera (.209, 9 for 43 with three extra-base hits)

  4. Nick Williams (.250, 10 for 40 with two extra-base hits)

  5. Asdrubal Cabrera (.228, 13 for 53 with six extra-base hits)

  6. Maikel Franco (.154, 6 for 39 with four extra-base hits)

The rundown

Phillies bats remained silent in their 3-1 loss to the Marlins, but their optimism remained intact, thanks to Atlanta's loss to Boston. "We have a ton of confidence," manager Gabe Kapler said. "It's not the last day of the season."

Maikel Franco was not in the starting lineup for the second straight game and the third time in four games. Kapler revealed before Monday's game that the third baseman has been dealing with a right wrist injury for the past week that he suffered during the Phillies series in Toronto. X-rays Sunday were negative. Franco is hitless in his last 16 at-bats.

Despite the fact the Phillies are in a must-win situation in every game right now, left fielder Rhys Hoskins was not in the Philies' starting Labor Day lineup. "We have ridden Rhys really hard. We have not given him any days off in a long time," Kapler said. "We anticipate that we may not give him another day off for the entire season, so we're looking for the spot to give him that one little rest."

Important dates

Tonight: Jake Arrieta vs. Trevor Richards, 7:10 p.m.
Tomorrow: Nick Pivetta vs. Sandy Alcantara, 7:10 p.m.
Thursday: Off day
Friday: Zach Eflin opens series vs. N.Y. Mets at Citi Field, 7:10 p.m.
Saturday: Aaron Nola vs. Noah Syndergaard, 7:10 p.m.

Stat of the day

Sometimes it's fun to look at miscellaneous statistics, and this is one of my favorite pages on the brilliant BaseballReference.com site. It reveals average time of game, average attendance, average age, and success of team challenges. For the record, the Phillies' average length of game is 3 hours, 11 minutes, tied for the second longest in baseball with Boston and Minnesota. Only the Dodgers — at 3:13 — are taking longer.

I maintain that's a horrible statistic to lead the league in, but only four teams are averaging less than three hours per game this season. Twenty years ago, only two teams averaged games that lasted more than three hours.

From the mailbag

Send questions by email or on Twitter @brookob.

I have not gone back and checked the actual stats, but I have a gut feeling that the Phillies have had a worse record since the acquisition of the new players than before. Additions such as Cabrera and Ramos are great stat wise, but I think Kapler had a band of brothers much like the Eagles originally, and now that spirit seems to be missing. What does our expert say?

Thanks, Everett S., via email

Answer: Thanks for reading and for the email, Everett. You are correct in saying the Phillies have been worse since acquiring Asdrubal Cabrera and Wilson Ramos. They are 13-17 since the trade deadline. I don't know if I'd blame the chemistry, however. I think this was a flawed team all along offensively and those flaws have started to show as the games have become more meaningful.