Offensive woes continue for Phillies in 5th straight loss

PITTSBURGH -- The Phillies' offense had no answer for Paul Skenes in Sunday's 2-1 loss to the Pirates at PNC Park.

By itself, that's not so bad. Plenty of teams have been stifled by the 23-year-old phenom, who lowered his season ERA to 1.88 after holding the Phils to one unearned run over 7 2/3 innings.

The problem, however, is it's not just Skenes holding them in check.

The Phillies have lost five straight games and nine of their past 10. They've been swept on back-to-back weekends -- this time by a last-place Pirates team that hadn't won three straight games all season.

Offensively, the Phillies have been held to a single run in four of their past five games. They're hitting .189 during this 10-game stretch -- and they've averaged just 2.4 runs in their nine losses in that span. They've been outscored 57-22 in those nine contests.

Could it be time for a team meeting?

"Yeah, we'll see," manager Rob Thomson said following Sunday’s setback.

Maybe some lineup changes?

"We'll see, you know?" Thomson said. "I've been thinking about some different things. We'll see what happens."

While some of the offensive struggles predate Bryce Harper being placed on the injured list Saturday, losing the two-time MVP from the heart of the order certainly hasn't helped matters. The Phillies are 1-7 without Harper in the lineup this season -- and 36-21 with him.

When Harper missed two months with a fractured left thumb in 2022, the Phillies went 12-12 over the first month without him. They went 20-8 over the second.

"In 2022, when he was down, it took a second to have everyone calm down and realize we still have to play our game," said second baseman Bryson Stott. "He's Bryce Harper -- you're not going to try to step up to be Bryce Harper, you want to be yourself and take your at-bats. Obviously, you want to hit like him, but a little bit of trying too hard and coming out of approaches -- there's some of that a little bit."

On Sunday, Brandon Marsh and Rafael Marchán had back-to-back hits off Skenes in the third, with Marsh scoring on an error. The Phillies’ only other hit came in the ninth inning on a one-out double by Trea Turner. After Kyle Schwarber was intentionally walked, Alec Bohm grounded into a game-ending double play.

The top six hitters in Philadelphia's lineup went a combined 1-for-21. But the problems extend throughout the order.

Stott, who hit leadoff on Sunday, is hitting .190 (23-for-121) with a .496 OPS in 32 games since the start of May. Elsewhere, neither the left-field platoon of Max Kepler and Weston Wilson nor the center-field mix of Marsh and Johan Rojas has yielded much success. Behind the plate, J.T. Realmuto is hitting .223 with a .647 OPS -- each of which would be a career low.

The Phillies have a combined .205 batting average from their second basemen, left fielders, center fielders and catchers since May 1. That's the worst such mark in the Majors. Those position groups have also combined for a .611 OPS in that span. The only clubs with a lower mark are the A's and Rockies.

“The easiest thing is to say it's a long season, and things like that,” Stott said. “But we know we're better than what we've been playing like, and we need to start doing that.”

Phillies starter Cristopher Sánchez did his part opposite Skenes, striking out nine over seven-plus innings of two-run ball -- but he took the loss. That came one day after Ranger Suárez also threw seven innings of two-run ball … and also took the loss.

"It's frustrating, for sure," Stott said. "Just with the hitters that we have, and the outings we're getting from our pitchers -- you feel like you're letting them down."

Ten games ago, the Phillies had the best record in the National League and led the Mets by two games in the NL East. The recent slide has left them 4 1/2 games back of the Mets and just one game ahead of the Cardinals for the final NL Wild Card spot.

So, about that possibility of a team meeting …

“I think we've played together long enough that we know each other,” Stott said. “And if our veterans think it's time for a huge blow-out team meeting, it'll happen.”

In the meantime, Thomson said it best: We’ll see.