Phillies, sluggish but not slugging, reach halfway mark with familiar outfield issues

New York Times

8 hours ago

HOUSTON — A thunderstorm roared outside Daikin Park in the seventh inning when the Phillies were set aside on nine pitches to extend their scoreless streak to 26 innings. In the eighth inning, they saw the light when their backup catcher worked a terrific nine-pitch at-bat, and a run later scored on a sacrifice fly. The euphoria lasted all of 13 minutes.
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This, a 2-1 loss to the Houston Astros, was how the Phillies reached the halfway point of the season. They allowed five runs in three games and lost all three. They've hit 83 homers in 81 games, their lowest output halfway through a season since 2017. Their left fielder, the club's lone offseason hitting acquisition, played for the first time in four days and complained afterward about how the Phillies have misled him. The right fielder, the one who challenged his manager in front of the team earlier this month, ended the game with one of the most uncompetitive at-bats of the season.
They are in first place.
'We can improve in quite a few areas,' shortstop Trea Turner said. 'We can play some better baseball. I don't think we've played our best baseball. I kind of like that. We've had some injuries here and there. We're still in a shot to win the division. I don't really know the standings, but before coming here, we were in first place. So if you had told me that two, three months ago, I would take that.'
We have scored pic.twitter.com/WapTQIXogc
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) June 26, 2025
An optimist like Turner would see how the Phillies have arrived here despite Bryce Harper having played three games in the last month. (Provided he has a good weekend, he could be activated Monday from the injured list.) They have won games despite a leaky bullpen and an outfield rife with problems.
They signed Max Kepler to a $10 million contract last December and ran it back with the rest of the lineup. It's a talented group that has made real adjustments for prolonged stretches during the first half. But they are prone to lineup-wide slumps. They miss Harper. The righties in the middle of the lineup — Alec Bohm, Nick Castellanos and J.T. Realmuto — have been close to league average or below. It feels like they're missing a stronger right-handed presence in the middle of the batting order.
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Kepler, a lefty hitter, was brought in to be a stable presence in a corner of the outfield. They could not find the proper righty and settled on Kepler. He's hitting .209/.300/.383 in 267 plate appearances. He is not the problem, just a problem.
'The biggest challenge for me is not playing routinely,' Kepler said after Thursday's loss. 'That's the biggest challenge.'
Kepler was under the impression he would.
'Yeah,' he said, 'I was told I was going to be the starting left fielder.'
He has started 60 of the first 81 games; only three times against a lefty starter. He sat the last four days. He bounced one to second base in his first at-bat. He ran, then slowed down as he neared the bag. The Astros turned a 4-6-3 double play that Kepler might have beaten with a better effort. He struck out looking in the fifth, then hit a weak ground out to first in the seventh.
In the bottom of the eighth, Kepler bobbled a single hit his way. He squandered a chance to throw out the eventual winning run at home plate.
'For sure,' Kepler said. 'Triple-clutched it. I'm not going to make excuses.'
The Phillies have not reached a breaking point with their outfield — at least not yet — but a string of righty starters for the next week presents an important test. Kepler will play. He must perform, or the Phillies will consider alternatives. They held onto Whit Merrifield until mid-July; it would be surprising if Kepler's runway is shorter.
But team officials are smitten with Justin Crawford, the 21-year-old outfield prospect who is hitting .336/.413/.441 at Triple A. Crawford does not hit for power. Rival evaluators have questioned whether his swing, tailored to hit the ball on the ground, will be successful in the majors. But all Crawford has done in the minors is produce.
'Playing great,' Thomson said. 'Swinging the bat. He's been good.'
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Has he put himself in consideration for a promotion at some point?
'Oh yeah,' Thomson said. 'Absolutely.'
That's one lever the Phillies could pull to add some energy. Harper's return will be the best boost. But someone other than Harper and Kyle Schwarber has to hit for consistent power.
'We definitely have more of that in there,' Turner said. 'I think we would all tell you that, too. So we have to find ways to do it. I think it's pretty obvious to us. We all want that OPS to be higher and slug to be higher. You do that pretty quickly with homers. We've got to find a way.
'It's felt like we were getting beat by the homer. We kind of need to do that to some other guys. The first game here, we got beat by a homer. Last night, they had a big homer late. So we need to do that to those other guys. That's on us.'
Castellanos has the fourth-highest slugging percentage (.435) on the team. He has reverted to his ultra-aggressive self ever since Thomson benched him for an incident last week in Miami when the manager removed him for defensive purposes. Castellanos has swung at the first pitch in 25 of his 34 plate appearances since. He did it all four times Thursday, including in the ninth inning when he flailed at a slider that was nowhere near the strike zone.
Castellanos' production at the plate, a few ticks above league average, is important because the Phillies need everything. But, factoring in defense, he is essentially a replacement-level player making $20 million. The same could be said for Kepler and his $10 million salary. Center field is forever a black hole for this franchise. The Phillies' outfield ranks 21st in OPS. It feels like a unit that needs some sort of refresh.
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There are 81 more games. A lot can change. A lot will change. The current snapshot of the Phillies shows a team that will contend for a title because its rotation is elite. They wield an advantage that few others can.
It's why these three days in Houston were maddening. That's how the Phillies reached the halfway point.
'Our starting pitching has been phenomenal,' Thomson said Thursday morning. 'Probably better than what I'd expected. Our offense has been hot and cold, which is normal. But I hope that over time it sort of settles in. Score runs a little more consistently. And we've played better defense than I thought we would.'
The manager said he would think more about his first-half observations. He had time to burn on a flight to Atlanta. It was a natural chance to reflect.
'I'm not really a reflection guy,' Thomson said. 'I'm more like, in the moment, what are we doing today?'
Right now, the manager has some fires to extinguish.
(Photo of Nick Castellanos: Erik Williams / Imagn Images)