Offense fails again in San Francisco as Phillies fall out of first place

SAN FRANCISCO - If the Phillies' offense owned a pet dog, last night would have been a good time to look down at it and say, "Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Washington or Houston anymore."

Not only did they fail to hit, they failed to hit against a starting pitcher who had lasted a total of eight innings in his two previous starts, a starting pitcher whom they had tagged for 16 runs in 15 innings over the previous two seasons, a starting pitcher who looked like the perfect slump-buster for a team badly in need of one.

Instead, the funk thickened against Giants righthander Todd Wellemeyer (1-3), and the Phillies lost for the fourth time in five games. With a date against Giants ace Tim Lincecum looming today, they faced the very real possibility of entering this weekend's series against the Mets having to regain first place from them.

"This is a game where you think you are playing real good and everything, and you drop your guard for a while, all of a sudden you can hit rock bottom," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "This is a game you stay with every day. That's what we talk about. It's that everyday process. That's what happens in this game . . . Here lately, we haven't played good baseball. Every phase of the game you can think of."

The last time they entered a series against the Mets trailing them was Sept. 5, 2008, when the Phillies were just beginning a dramatic September comeback against their chief rival that would propel them into their first championship run in 28 seasons. Since then, the Phillies have led the Mets in the standings in all six of their series. The last time they trailed the Mets at all occured last May 28, when New York was a game-and-a-half up in first place. Since then, they have played 135 consecutive games with the division lead.

That changed last night with a major malfunction of a game, a 6-2 loss in which they managed just five hits and twice were thrown out at second base.

In their last 10 games, the Phillies have scored just 30 runs, averaging fewer than three extra-base hits per outing.

In nine games against the Nationals and Astros to start the season, the Phillies scored 69 runs and whacked 13 home runs and 41 extra-base hits. Of course, Washington, the foe in six of those games, boasts a starting pitching staff with the third-worst ERA in the National League. San Francisco's rotation has the second-best. And, thus far, it has showed.

The Phillies actually scored first off Wellemeyer, as Jayson Werth hit his 10th double of the season, stole third base, and then scored on a sacrifice fly by Raul Ibanez in the second inning.

In fact, the Phillies might have been able to score more in the second, but Ryan Howard was thrown out at second after coasting into the base for what he thought would be an easy double. Afterward, he called it a "brain [cramp]."

That was all the Phillies offense would muster until the eighth inning, when they trailed 6-1.

Jamie Moyer (2-2) allowed 10 hits, many of them to the deep recesses of AT & T Park, but lasted six innings for his fourth straight start and limited the Giants to four runs. Chad Durbin allowed two more runs in the seventh, and J.C. Romero pitched a scoreless eighth.

But the story continues to surround the Phillies' inability to muster any offense.

Like any enthusiasm about their binge at the beginning of the season, any concern about this current dry spell should be tempered. They are playing without leadoff hitter Jimmy Rollins, whose absence is starting to be felt.

Coincidentally, one of the Phillies' few highlights of the night came courtesy of Rollins' replacement at shortstop. In the third inning, Juan Castro started one of the most spectacular doubleplays you will see all season. Castro made a sprawling grab of a bouncing ball up the middle by Pablo Sandoval, then with one motion shoveled the ball from his glove to Chase Utley, who made a barehanded grab, stepped on second, and threw to first base. Replays showed that the runner probably was safe. Nevertheless, the Phillies couldn't afford to give back any highlights last night.

For more Phillies coverage and opinion, read David Murphy's blog, High Cheese, at http://go.philly.com/highcheese.