Phillies’ Bryce Harper is stuck in a deep slump. How can he break out of it?

SEATTLE — In the late innings Friday night, with the Phillies losing by a lopsided margin, manager Rob Thomson offered to take Bryce Harper out of the game.

“He said, ‘No, I need to keep hitting,’” Thomson said.

But Harper is stuck in the deepest slump of his career — 1-for-34, with 13 strikeouts entering Saturday night’s game against the Mariners — and so, the question must be asked: Would he benefit from a game off to clear his head?

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Not according to Harper, at least.

“I just want to play,” he said Friday night after going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in a 10-2 trouncing by the Mariners. “What are you going to do?”

Thomson agrees. And so, Harper was among a handful of Phillies players who took batting practice off the curveball machine Saturday before taking his usual No. 3 spot in the batting order against Mariners righty Bryce Miller.

If Thomson thought a day off could help, he said he wouldn’t hesitate to intercede and give Harper a breather.

“But I trust him and I know how passionate he is about wanting to stay in there and wanting to compete for his teammates,” Thomson said. “I take that into consideration, too.”

Harper was hitless in 21 at-bats entering Saturday. His last hit was a two-run homer on July 27 against Guardians righty Carlos Carrasco at Citizens Bank Park.

Since the All-Star break, Harper’s numbers have slid from .301/.403/.579 for a .983 OPS to .271/.366/.534 for a .900 OPS.

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Ranger Suárez (back soreness) played catch for a second consecutive day and will throw lightly in the bullpen Sunday or a “more intense” session Monday in Los Angeles, according to Thomson.

Either way, it’s unlikely he will rejoin the rotation until after the road trip.

“I would think so,” Thomson said.

Initially, the Phillies hoped Suárez would return from the injured list next week in Arizona. It doesn’t appear that he has had a setback. But the Phillies are being careful to not rush him, especially because Suárez has felt tightness in more than one area of his back over the last month.

Taijuan Walker will continue his minor-league assignment Tuesday night at triple-A Lehigh Valley. Thomson hasn’t ruled him out for starting next Sunday in Arizona, although he’s also probably more likely to come back after the Phillies get home.

”It all depends on how it goes on Tuesday,” Thomson said.

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After Friday night’s game, in which the Phillies were held to six hits through eight innings before scoring twice in the ninth, Mariners manager Scott Servais gave credit to advance scout Sam Reinertsen.

“We don’t see the Phillies. We see them once a year,” Servais said. “You never know how they’re going when you see them. He nailed it. The scouting report we had before the game was right on point.”

It was a nice shout-out by Servais. But was it an indictment of Phillies hitters that they’ve become easier to attack?

“Well, they must have the same attack plan as some other teams have had lately,” Thomson said. “I didn’t really read anything into it, to tell you the truth.”

In deciding on Orion Kerkering as an opener Saturday night, Thomson wanted to match up against the righty-hitting top of the Mariners’ order (Victor Robles, Randy Arozarena, switch-hitting Cal Raleigh, and Justin Turner) before bringing in lefty Kolby Allard as a bulk reliever. ... Brandon Marsh was named National League defender of the month for July by Sports Info Solutions. Marsh had a total of seven defensive runs saved (four in left field, two in center field, one in right field). ... Zack Wheeler (10-5, 2.94 ERA) is scheduled to start the series finale Sunday against Mariners righty Logan Gilbert (6-7, 3.11).