PHILADELPHIA — Rob Thomson has managed the Phillies on an interim basis for 55 days, not nearly long enough to establish a distinctive style of helmsmanship. If anything, the longtime coach and first-time skipper has projected consistency, calm, and a steady hand.
But there he was late Tuesday night, after the Phillies scored less than four runs for the 11th time in 14 games, contemplating changes.
“We’re talking about a lot of things with the lineup,” Thomson said, “to try to inject some runs in there.”
Thomson may have done casino-level shuffling, too, perhaps bumping scorching-hot Alec Bohm up in the order or sliding down slumping leadoff man Kyle Schwarber. But he prefers to talk through such changes with his coaches and communicate them clearly to the players, and with the series finale against the Atlanta Braves set to begin at 12:35 p.m. Wednesday, he stuck with the status quo for at least another game, surely disappointing armchair sports-talk radio managers.
And once again, Thomson’s patience paid off.
The Phillies, still playing without injured Bryce Harper and Jean Segura, didn’t generate much offense through four innings against Braves starter Charlie Morton. But they were disciplined and opportunistic in the fifth, sending eight batters to the plate, capitalizing on two Braves errors, and scoring five runs to fuel a 7-2 victory in the rubber match of the three-game series.
It marked their highest run-scoring output since a 10-0 victory July 16 in Miami and only the second time since July 5 that they scored more than six runs in a game. And it happened without them hitting a home run and mustering only two extra-base hits, including Nick Castellanos’ fly-ball double that fell between three Braves players in right field.
The Phillies closed out an otherwise disappointing 2-4 homestand and set out on a six-game road trip that won’t conclude until after the trade deadline at 6 p.m. next Tuesday. Further, the fifth-inning outburst won’t dispel the notion that the Phillies would be wise to push Bohm, who stretched his hitting streak to 12 games, or Stott, who continued to have quality at-bats, closer to the top half of the order.
But it did give Thomson more time to think about it, as the Phillies temporarily moved back into a tie for the final National League playoff spot with the St. Louis Cardinals, who are scheduled to wrap up a series in Toronto on Wednesday night.
Bohm, in particular, is all but carrying the offense at the moment. After Stott led off the big fifth inning with a walk and advanced to third base on an errant pickoff throw by Morton, Bohm singled through the left side to drive him in for a 1-0 lead. Bohm tacked on an RBI double in the sixth inning and is now 34 for 80 (.425) over his last 22 games.
Yet Bohm continues to bat mostly out of the No. 7 spot.
Bohm said Tuesday night that he’s “indifferent” to where he hits in Thomson’s order. He batted eighth, seventh, sixth, second, and even led off once this season under deposed manager Joe Girardi. Since Thomson took over, Bohm hasn’t risen higher than fifth.
Regardless, it was the bottom of the order that made the Braves pay for their miscues. One batter after Morton’s error, second baseman Robinson Cano booted a Didi Gregorius grounder in the hole. Odúbel Herrera, making a rare start, followed with an RBI single. Schwarber lifted a sacrifice fly to make it 3-0, and after Rhys Hoskins worked a walk, J.T. Realmuto lined a two-run single to stretch the margin to 5-0.
From there, the Phillies were mostly on autopilot before hopping a 45-minute flight to Pittsburgh, where Thomson would get to keep mulling the lineup from 30,000 feet.
Gibson deals
Kyle Gibson rebounded from a rough start last Friday night against the Chicago Cubs by allowing little more than a two-run homer to Matt Olson.
Gibson didn’t have to contend with Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr., who got the day off. Still, he scattered a couple of hits and walks and held Atlanta scoreless through five innings before Olson took him deep in the sixth.
The bullpen — Connor Brogdon, Brad Hand, and Andrew Bellatti — combined to record the final nine outs.
Castellanos booed again
The Phillies had a chance to break the scoreless stalemate in the fourth inning. But with two on and one out, Castellanos grounded into a rally-killing double play.
Cue the boos.
It was a common reaction during the homestand given the $100 million slugger’s ongoing lack of power. Castellanos led off the sixth inning with the bloop double and scored on Bohm’s double. It marked only his fourth extra-base hit this month. He hasn’t homered since June 30..
