ST. LOUIS -- Rob Thomson had thought about it long enough.
So, on Friday afternoon at Busch Stadium, he filled out a Phillies lineup with Bryce Harper hitting third and Kyle Schwarber hitting fourth. Harper and Schwarber are the team¡¯s two best hitters, but until that night¡¯s 2-0 loss to the Cardinals, they had never hit back-to-back in a game. Both hit left-handed, and Thomson never loved the idea of a left-handed pitcher facing them consecutively.
Thomson, like many managers, prefers a balanced lineup whenever possible.
¡°Just trying to protect Harper as best we can,¡± Thomson explained before the Phillies¡¯ first shutout loss since Aug. 28, 2024. ¡°Not get into a situation where they¡¯re going to intentionally walk him. They¡¯ve got to pitch to him.¡±
The Phillies mustered two hits against right-hander Andre Pallante and three hits overall. It wasn¡¯t the lineup, which is why it¡¯s worth giving this another shot.
¡°I don¡¯t think you pull the cord on that yet,¡± Thomson said.
It has worked in the past. On July 3, 2005, former Phillies manager Charlie Manuel hit Chase Utley fifth and Ryan Howard sixth in a game against Atlanta. It was the first time Utley and Howard hit consecutively in the lineup. Overall, they started 833 games in which they hit back-to-back, including 818 games as the Nos. 3 and 4 hitters.
Both could hit lefty pitchers, so Manuel figured, why not?
Harper and Schwarber can hit lefties, too. Harper has hit .268 with an .833 OPS in his career against lefties. Schwarber has hit .226 with a .755 OPS, although since the beginning of last season he has hit .313 with a .964 OPS against them.
¡°It¡¯s very challenging, for sure,¡± Phillies right-hander Aaron Nola said. ¡°I feel like they¡¯re two different guys that can do a lot of different things. They can hit the long ball. They don¡¯t miss the ball in their hot zone too, too much. Especially those guys back-to-back, if you get guys on base late in a game, they¡¯ve always got a good chance to hit a home run or get a hit. We¡¯ve got a great lineup overall, no matter where those guys hit.¡±
Harper intentionally walked twice in Thursday¡¯s 4-2 loss in 11 innings in Atlanta. It spurred Thomson¡¯s decision to try this. Harper has been intentionally walked 63 times since he joined the Phillies before the 2019 season. Only Jos¨¦ Ram¨ªrez (69), Shohei Ohtani (68) and Freddie Freeman (66) have been intentionally walked more.
Nick Castellanos struck out twice following Harper¡¯s intentional walks on Thursday. Overall, Elias Sports Bureau said Phillies batters immediately following a Harper intentional walk have hit .279 (17-for-61) with an .875 OPS.
It¡¯s no surprise that Harper sees fewer pitches in the zone when there are runners in scoring position. Before Friday, he had seen 55.8 percent of pitches outside the zone, which ranked 15th out of 185 players (minimum 150 pitches). It jumps to 64.9 percent with runners in scoring position, which ranked 11th out of 264 players (minimum 25 pitches).
Maybe Schwarber¡¯s presence in the on-deck circle convinces a few more pitchers to throw Harper a few more strikes.
¡°I¡¯d have to face him,¡± Nola said. ¡°I feel like with our lineup, you¡¯ve kind of got to pitch to him.¡±
Harper and Schwarber almost got something going in the first inning. Harper walked with two outs. Schwarber singled to put runners on first and second. They executed a double steal to put runners at second and third.
Castellanos lined out to Cardinals right fielder Jordan Walker to end the inning. It was the Phillies¡¯ second-hardest-hit ball of the game at 104.2 mph.
¡°They caught a rocket,¡± Schwarber said.
Schwarber has been asked countless times about his spot in the lineup since he joined the organization in 2022.
Friday was just another day.
¡°I¡¯m going to hit where I¡¯m put in the lineup and I¡¯m going to do it to the best of my abilities,¡± he said.
If it¡¯s leadoff, it¡¯s leadoff. If it¡¯s cleanup behind Harper, Castellanos or Alec Bohm, he¡¯ll do that, too.
¡°There¡¯s no new weight on myself,¡± he said. ¡°There¡¯s always a challenge within the game for yourself. Obviously, I want everyone in our lineup to feel they¡¯re at their best, taking their best at-bats. Everyone is going to be able to trust the guy behind them. Right? I feel like that¡¯s why we¡¯re all such a close-knit group because we all have that trust with each other.¡±