Phillies lose to Marlins as offense is absent
MIAMI - For 2 hours and 57 minutes on Wednesday, the Phillies played a brand of unwatchable baseball. They could not hit. They erred on the bases and in the field. Their pitchers threw meatballs.
MIAMI - For 2 hours and 57 minutes on Wednesday, the Phillies played a brand of unwatchable baseball. They could not hit. They erred on the bases and in the field. Their pitchers threw meatballs.
Another lopsided loss to the Marlins, this one 11-1, provided the latest reminder of how much this lineup must improve before it can contend with the league's better teams. There is a sense that the next wave of young players is near, but this process is so painstaking that it requires certain lessons.
Reliable position players are at such a premium in this game. The Phillies, it appears, have very few. Is the lineup in need of an overhaul?
"What do you think?" Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said, punctuated with a laugh for some dark humor.
The latest loss fell on the shoulders of 22-year-old starter Zach Eflin, who was ambushed by Miami's potent lineup. Giancarlo Stanton hit a ball so hard that it left his bat at 112 mph. Eflin, just five days removed from a masterful shutout, was humbled in five mediocre innings.
But the lineup flunked again. The Phillies had 10 hits, nine of which were singles. They have played 103 games this season, and they have been outscored by 108 runs. The gap is measurable.
Mackanin, hamstrung by injuries and ineffectiveness, employed a double-play combination of Taylor Featherston and Cesar Hernandez. He inserted little-used Tyler Goeddel in left and Jimmy Paredes in right. The makeshift lineup wilted; the Phillies did not score until Hernandez doubled home Paredes with two outs in the ninth inning.
"It's an up-and-down season," Mackanin said. "That's the type of team we have. We don't have consistency in the lineup. Let's put it that way. That doesn't bode that well."
The offense has stumbled to a .214 batting average, .276 on-base percentage, and .317 slugging percentage in the 13 games since the all-star break. The Phillies have averaged 2.62 runs per game. They have lost nine of those 13.
"Any time you're on a team with this caliber of players, yeah, any time you go into a rut you're surprised," Tommy Joseph said. "Because we've got a lot of guys on this team that know how to hit and know how to hit with runners in scoring position. It is what it is right now."
Outfielder Aaron Altherr will return on Thursday, which will at least offer a modicum of intrigue. Altherr, 25, is no savior; he may not even be one of those so-called reliable position players. But the Phillies will use the last two months to gain more intelligence on Altherr, who impressed in a brief stint last season, to help determine whether he is a part of the future.
This whole season was supposed to be about the future. That is what could prompt more roster shuffling in the next few weeks as the Phillies contemplate adding more young talent to the major-league roster. Space is needed to do that, which could be accomplished through trades before Monday's deadline, or by other means.
Until then, the Phillies slog toward the end with their flawed roster in transition. Larry Bowa, the 70-year-old bench coach and baseball lifer, decided he had seen enough by the fourth inning. He berated home-plate umpire Pat Hoberg from the dugout for his strike calls. Hoberg ejected him.
"In this game, when you win, you get giddy," Mackanin said. "When you lose, you want to hang yourself."
So Bowa collected his stat sheets and retreated to the clubhouse, where he had the chance to do something more enjoyable with his Wednesday afternoon than watch the listless Phillies.
@MattGelb