Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Plan for Harper, Realmuto changes after Game 1 loss
Aaron Nola didn’t think his team was pressing during a sloppy, lackadaisical loss to Washington Tuesday. But the lineup changes that Joe Girardi made for Game 2 of the Phillies’ doubleheader against the Nationals indicated that at the very least, things are getting more serious for the Phillies in the final stretch of the season.
The plan articulated Monday by Joe Girardi was to have J.T. Realmuto, who’d missed 10 days with a hip issue, be in the lineup for one of the games of the doubleheader. Bryce Harper, who left Sunday’s game early with lower back stiffness, was slated to play the outfield in one game and be the designated hitter in the other.
But after a lackluster 5-1 loss with Nola on the mound, the plan changed, and both recently injured stars were in the lineup for Game 2, with Harper in right field again and Realmuto DHing after catching Game 1.
It’s pretty close to the maximum workload that could’ve been expected given their situations.
“I think we’ve got to get through the first game to see where he’s at,” Girardi said pregame about Realmuto. “There’s some fear, some trepidation if he sits down for 45 minutes and you have to warm him up again. I think we’ve got to get through today and see how he responds before we do a whole lot with him.”
Those fears, and Harper’s day-to-day status playing the outfield, were apparently allayed, or at least overruled by the needs of a club hitting a rough patch at the worst possible time.
Having both in the order didn’t prevent the Phillies from dropping a third straight game in the opener. Two unearned runs, caused by outfield errors by Harper and Mickey Moniak, didn’t help bail out Nola on a day where he didn’t have his sharpest stuff. For a second straight day, the Phillies made a Nats starter with an ERA north of seven look like an ace. This time it was Austin Voth, who tossed a threehitter, the only run a Jean Segura solo homer.
The Phillies (27-28 going into Game 2) have lost three straight game, mounting an unconvincing charge for the postseason. They’ve batted .205 in the last three games – a pair of 5-1 losses to the Nats, including Monday night to struggling vet Anibal Sanchez, and Sunday’s 6-3 loss to Toronto. They have scored just two earned runs in those games.
Nola doesn’t think it’s a mentality issue.
“This is baseball,” he said. “Anybody can beat anybody any day. We’re not pressing. We’re just looking to go out and compete and try to take this second game today.”
The problems in Game 1 Tuesday were obvious, from Nola being at less than his best to the misplays by Moniak and Harper in a disaster of a third inning. But the longer-term trend at the plate is worrying for several veteran Phils supposed to be carrying this team.
Harper with the injury caveat, has just three multiple-hit games in his last 34 outings. He’s batting .185 in that time with 13 RBIs and 17 runs scored.
Andrew McCutchen is batting .191 over his last 12 games. It informed why Girardi gave him the night off Monday.
“I just felt he needed a day,” Girardi said. “I look at his at-bats and stuff, and there are times when you feel like, you give him a day today, the next six games, it’s advantageous for him. He’s played every day. He’s not sat out. He’s played doubleheaders. It’s pretty remarkable what he’s done from a physical standpoint, too.”
They’re not alone. Jay Bruce is 4-for-27 in September (.148 average). Roman Quinn has three hits (all singles) in his last 34 appearances dating to late August. Scott Kingery, though he homered in Game 2, remains in a season-long funk that has him hovering around .150. Add in the fact that the Phillies struck out 32 times in their three-game slide (over just 25 innings) and it’s not just the low average but the dearth of productive at-bats.