ATLANTA -- After starting his Phillies tenure slashing .185/.311/.410 in his first 48 games, Kyle Schwarber turned his season around with a monster June. The lefty hit .272 with a 1.065 OPS in 27 June games, more than doubling his season home run total with 12 long balls.

In July, Schwarber again fell below the .200 mark, despite a 10-homer month. Rhys Hoskins followed a similar up-and-down trajectory, starting his season hitting .197 in April, .306 in June and all the way down to .053 (1-for-19) in five regular-season games in October.

The streaky periods aren¡¯t unusual; the Phillies had just hoped they¡¯d catch the top of their order during a hot streak entering the postseason.

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With the opportunity to move one game closer to the National League Championship Series, the Phillies were blanked by Kyle Wright and the Braves in a 3-0 loss Wednesday night in Game 2 of the NL Division Series. Schwarber, Hoskins and J.T. Realmuto -- the Nos. 1, 2 and 3 hitters in Philly's lineup for all four playoff games -- went a combined 1-for-12 with five strikeouts, extending the trio¡¯s postseason slump.

Through four games this postseason, Hoskins, Schwarber and Realmuto are a combined 4-for-49 (.082/.113/.102) with 18 strikeouts. The rest of the lineup has slashed .270/.378/.419. Schwarber, who did contribute a sacrifice fly in each Wild Card Series game against the Cardinals, is hitless in his last 33 postseason plate appearances, dating to his time with the Red Sox in 2021. That is tied for the fifth-longest postseason hitless streak since 1903.

The tone was set when the Phillies opened Wednesday with a 1-2-3 first on just 10 pitches against Wright. Schwarber and Hoskins grounded out before Realmuto struck out on three pitches to end the inning. Schwarber finished his night 0-for-4 with three strikeouts.

Manager Rob Thomson suggested Schwarber could be trying to ¡°do too much¡± at the plate, but he added that he trusts the seven-year veteran will soon snap the skid. Thomson said he hasn't considered moving Schwarber out of the leadoff spot.

"I've given no thought to it, because that's who Schwarb is," Thomson said before Game 2. "He goes through some down times, but when they're good times and he's hot, he's as hot as anybody. So we'll just wait it out."

For his part, Schwarber knows he needs to take advantage of the opportunities he's getting on the game's biggest stage.

¡°I think the biggest thing is, obviously, fouling off the baseball,¡± said Schwarber, who fouled off five pitches on Wednesday. ¡°For me, [I have to] be able to put the ball in play. I¡¯m the guy at the top of the lineup, got to be able to get on base, start things for these guys. So yeah, I don't feel bad or anything up at the plate. So I've just got to be able to make the adjustments and go from there, put in a good day's work and be ready to go here on Friday.¡±

Hoskins entered the postseason coming off one of his best regular seasons. The 29-year-old first baseman recorded his second career 30-homer year (34 in 2018). Of his 30 homers, 24 came during a team win. His eight game-winning home runs were second to Schwarber, who had 11 decisive homers.

¡°I feel like I've had pretty good at-bats so far,¡± Hoskins said. ¡°I feel like I'm getting pitched pretty tough, too. But that's what happens in the postseason.¡±

Thomson thinks Hoskins is close ¡°since he¡¯s lofting a lot of balls.¡± Hoskins gave the best example of that with his fourth-inning flyout on Wednesday that had an expected batting average of .480.

¡°I always say this, but the hardest thing is getting to the box,¡± Hoskins said. ¡°If you can just continue to get in the box with some confidence, you've got a pretty good chance for something good to happen. So continue to try to swing at strikes and be ready for them when they come.¡±

In four 2022 postseason games, the Phillies have just one home run: Bryce Harper¡¯s solo shot in Saturday¡¯s NLWCS Game 2 win. Even without the production at the top of the lineup, Philadelphia had found ways to get the job done in its first three playoff games.

In St. Louis, the Phils clinched the opening series by way of small ball: A hit-by-pitch RBI, sac flies and singles. They carried the approach over to the NLDS, taking Game 1 vs. the Braves with four run-scoring singles and two sac flies. After the momentum came to a halt in Game 2 at Truist Park, the Phillies will look for a spark on Friday as they return home to host their first playoff game since 2011.

¡°Trust me, I obviously want to be going out there and getting on base and getting hits for guys who are on base, but like we said, this is a big overall goal here,¡± Schwarber said. ¡°I'm not going to be pouting or anything like that. I'm going to put in the work and be ready for any situation that's going to be thrown when I'm up there and be rooting on the boys.¡±