PHILADELPHIA -- Alec Bohm heard a smattering of boos on Tuesday night at Citizens Bank Park because this is Philadelphia, and he has been struggling since the first weekend of the season.
It happens here. But Bohm stood in the batter¡¯s box in the sixth inning against Giants right-hander Justin Verlander with another opportunity. He had grounded into an inning-ending double play in the fourth, but he had runners on first and second with two outs in a tie game in the sixth. Verlander threw him a 95-mph fastball down the middle. Bohm drove the pitch to left-center field for a single to score Nick Castellanos to give the Phillies the lead on their way to a 6-4 victory.
The crowd roared.
¡°That¡¯s the game right there, right?¡± Bohm said of the fourth-inning at-bat. ¡°You think, ¡®Oh, there was my chance.¡¯ You can either let that go one way and ruin the rest of the day, or just keep playing the game. And you know, the game gives you another opportunity. So, I think just play the game, take what it gives you.¡±
It has been a difficult month for Bohm, just like it has been a difficult month for his good friend Brandon Marsh. The numbers have shown it. Sometimes, so has the body language. Bohm started the season hoping to bounce back after a poor second half in 2024, which included a benching in Game 2 of the NLDS, and an offseason full of trade talks. He was manager Rob Thomson¡¯s No. 3 or No. 4 hitter until Thursday in Atlanta, when Thomson hit Bohm seventh for the first time since July 2023. He hit eighth on Tuesday.
Marsh started the season getting an opportunity to be an everyday center fielder, playing against both right-handed and left-handed pitchers. But Marsh is hitless in April, a stretch of 29 consecutive at-bats that dates to March 30. He got benched on Monday. He hit ninth on Tuesday.
Bohm had his big hit in the sixth. Marsh¡¯s sacrifice fly in the second gave the Phillies a 2-0 lead.
They contributed to a win.
¡°We¡¯re scuffling a bit, Bohmer and I,¡± Marsh said. ¡°But we¡¯ll be just fine. ¡ There¡¯s no other dude I want to be going through it with than Alec.¡±
Bohm and Marsh are not rookies. They¡¯ve played in the postseason each of the past three years. But they have taken these early season struggles especially hard.
Bohm said it has humbled him.
¡°I just want [Bohm] to enjoy the game,¡± said Bryce Harper, who hit a two-run homer in the seventh. ¡°Life could be a lot harder. Life can be a lot tougher. We get to play this beautiful game every day. I was standing in the on-deck circle in the third inning and I was thinking about it, 'Man, it¡¯s a great game we get to play.'
"Obviously, you¡¯re going to get your ups and downs in life and in the season. It¡¯s a hard thing to do. It is. But at the end of the day, we¡¯re all healthy, we¡¯re all strong. Just go out there and enjoy it because it¡¯ll go quick and you¡¯ll start thinking to yourself, 'Why did I take it so serious? And it¡¯s gone now.'¡±
Harper was asked why those thoughts crossed his mind in the third inning.
¡°I don¡¯t know, man,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m just so thankful to play this game. I¡¯m so thankful to play in this park. I think guys put so much stress on themselves. I do it. I do it every night. I probably do it more than most, and I have my whole career. I'm very tough on myself and very hard on myself.
"But when I see young guys or people going through it, it¡¯s a tough game, it¡¯s a tough thing to get through. We¡¯re a family in here. I want our young guys, I want our older guys, to enjoy this game and enjoy the moment of being here and being a Philadelphia Phillie.¡±
Asked what he will have learned from this experience, once he is through his slump, Bohm said: ¡°It¡¯s probably try to care a little less about results -- and probably think that sucked still. Obviously, whether it's tomorrow or a week from now or a month from now, I¡¯m going to be a different player, for sure. Just ¡ trusting everything I've done -- I've worked, I've prepared, I've done everything I can do. And once the ball leaves my bat, it¡¯s out of my hands. ¡ But definitely just staying, obviously, staying as calm as possible, which is hard, and just put one foot in front of the other.¡±