PHILADELPHIA ¨C Phillies manager Rob Thomson wants Brandon Marsh to clear his mind for at least a day or two.
But it could be three days.
Thomson started Johan Rojas in center field in Monday night¡¯s 10-4 loss to the Giants at Citizens Bank Park. Marsh is batting .108 (4-for-37) with one home run, four RBIs and a .439 OPS in 15 games. He has not gotten a hit since March 30. He is hitless in his past 26 at-bats.
¡°He¡¯s thinking about it quite a bit right now,¡± Thomson said before the game.
If Marsh sits again on Tuesday, he almost certainly will sit again on Wednesday against Giants left-hander Robbie Ray.
¡°I just read the emotional state of the player,¡± Thomson said. ¡°I think he¡¯s really thinking about it, and he really feels like he¡¯s letting his teammates down. He¡¯s putting a lot of pressure on himself to do well. And when you get to that point, I think it¡¯s time to relax for a minute.¡±
That created an opportunity for Rojas, who Thomson said had the best game of his Major League career on April 2 in a 5-1 victory over the Rockies. Rojas, who had to earn his spot on the Opening Day roster following offensive struggles last year, went 2-for-2 with a walk, a stolen base and a sacrifice bunt in that game against Colorado. He bunted for a hit.
The Phillies need Rojas to play that type of game. They need him to move runners, get on base any way possible and use his speed to his advantage.
The Phils had chances to win on Monday, even after Taijuan Walker¡¯s throwing error in the second inning contributed to turning a 3-1 lead into a 6-3 deficit. Walker allowed six runs (four earned) in five innings, his first runs allowed in three starts this year.
Philadelphia had runners on second and third with no outs in the fourth. Rojas, who struck out swinging in the second, struck out swinging on an 0-2 curveball out of the zone for the first out. Bryson Stott flied out and Trea Turner grounded out to end the inning.
The Phillies had a runner on third with one out in the sixth when Rojas struck out swinging on a 3-2 slider out of the zone for the second out. Stott flied out to left to end the inning.
¡°I tried to do the best I can,¡± Rojas said. ¡°I struck out three times. It¡¯s in the past now. I have to focus on helping my team win tomorrow.¡±
Thomson said he would not have pinch-hit for Rojas in the fourth inning. It was too early. But, looking back, Thomson could have pinch-hit Kody Clemens for Rojas in the sixth.
¡°Yeah, just a little bit overaggressive,¡± Thomson said about Rojas¡¯ at-bats. ¡°Over-swinging a little bit. ¡ I think there¡¯s an argument to pinch-hit in the sixth. But [Rojas] has faced [Randy] Rodr¨ªguez twice, and he had two really good at-bats. I felt OK then.¡±
A called third strike on J.T. Realmuto that was well off the plate ended the seventh inning with runners on first and second. Realmuto expressed frustration with the call.
But these shortcomings have been common for the Phillies. They are batting .199 with runners in scoring position this season, which ranks 26th in baseball. They went 1-for-11 on Monday.
¡°I think they¡¯re trying to do too much, they¡¯re getting pull-side happy," Thomson said. ¡°A lot of ground balls. They have to get back to what we were doing early in the year -- getting good pitches to hit, controlling the strike zone and using the entire field.¡±
It can change. Thomson expects it will.
Some players in the clubhouse just need to remember that.
¡°There are 70 guys hitting under .200 in Major League Baseball,¡± Thomson said.
In fact, there were 44 qualified batters hitting under .200 on Monday. The list included Mike Trout, Cody Bellinger, Byron Buxton, Anthony Santander, Dansby Swanson, Brent Rooker, Willy Adames, Max Muncy, Josh Bell, Christian Walker, Carlos Correa, Christian Yelich and Marcus Semien, among others.
¡°They just need to relax,¡± Thomson said. ¡°It¡¯s going to happen. We¡¯ve got a long way to go.¡±