Alec Bohm drops in the Phillies’ batting order amid hitting woes: ‘It’s just bad luck right now’

ATLANTA — Alec Bohm hasn’t hit seventh in the order since 2023.

But that’s where the Phillies third baseman found himself penciled in Thursday’s lineup for the series finale against the Atlanta Braves, following an 0-for-5 performance Wednesday night.

Bohm hadn’t hit lower than fourth this season, but is mired in a slump that has lowered his average to .178. Nick Castellanos, who has a .308 batting average, hit cleanup instead.

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Through 10 games, Bohm has struck out 10 times and walked just once. Bohm was a doubles machine in 2024, finishing the season with 44. This year he has not hit a double since his clutch two-run double that won the game for the Phillies on opening day.

He has three RBIs and is still searching for his first homer.

Phillies manager Rob Thomson maintained his confidence in Bohm, but said he is trying to take heat off him with the move.

“Just reminding him that he was an All-Star last year with 97 RBIs, high batting average,” Thomson said. “It’s not like you want to move guys around, but sometimes there’s a need for it, and sometimes it helps the guy just to kind of relax and just put himself on autopilot, and just go play.”

Bohm declined to speak with the media before Thursday’s game. Thomson said Bohm was “probably disappointed” with the move.

“He likes hitting where he has, but I think he also realizes that he’s not swinging the bat like he normally does,” Thomson said.

Part of it has been hitting into some bad luck, though. Bohm’s average exit velocity is 93.1 mph, which ranks in the 86th percentile of hitters, and he has a 51.4% hard-hit rate. Bohm’s expected batting average is .269.

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However, he’s not working the count for walks and is seeing fewer pitches than normal. Bohm is averaging 3.22 pitches per plate appearance this season, lower than the league average of 3.89. On Saturday, against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Bohm saw five total pitches in four at-bats.

“I think a lot of hitters get into that at times where they’re hitting the ball hard, they’re not getting any results, and then they start tweaking things because they think they’re not doing something right,” Thomson said.

“I’m not saying that’s what he’s doing, but that’s what happens. And you have to look at it realistically and know that things are good. It’s just bad luck right now.”

Thomson said he believes that Bohm has been handling his frustration better. In years past, Bohm had a tendency to throw his bat or helmet when displeased with a result on the field, but has mostly refrained from that this year.

“Everybody gets frustrated and he’s an emotional guy, just like [Bryce] Harper,” Thomson said. “But he’s not losing it as much or as harsh as he did last year.”

Ranger Suárez (low back stiffness) began a rehab assignment Thursday with single-A Clearwater. Thursday was a day off for Weston Wilson (moderate oblique strain) after playing in back-to-back games. Andrew Painter is scheduled to make his first start Friday for Clearwater, targeted for 35 pitches over two innings. … Aaron Nola (0-2, 6.35 ERA) is scheduled to start Friday’s series opener in St. Louis Cardinals against right-hander Andre Pallante (1-0, 3.86).