Phillies largely punchless at the plate in a 4-1 loss to the Braves

Nights like Wednesday — when the Phillies’ offense looked punchless in a 4-1 loss to Atlanta — could make the next six to eight weeks feel like six to eight months.

The Phils scored just one run, and both of their extra-base hits were produced by the same player. Each of their three chances with runners in scoring position was fruitless and they squandered their best chance by leaving the bases loaded in the second inning.

It was the second straight dud for the Phils as they begin a key six-game stretch against two teams — Atlanta and St. Louis — they trail in the wild-card standings.

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Rhys Hoskins went 2-for-4 with a double and a homer while the rest of the lineup combined to go 2-for-27. The Phillies knew it would be a challenge to replace Bryce Harper, who had his fractured left thumb surgically repaired Wednesday morning and is expected to be out at least until the middle of August. But nights like Wednesday illustrated just how long that wait could be.

“We have to remind ourselves that we can’t replace him,” Hoskins said. “There’s no replacing him. That’s just the type of player who he is. But we don’t have to replace him. I think if we all step up incrementally, a little bit, or just be ourselves with the caliber of players we have in this room. Sure, we’ll miss him. Of course, we’ll miss him. Any team would miss him. But it doesn’t mean we can’t get to where we want to go with the guys who are in this room if we commit to being ourselves.”

It’s not just the lineup that is trying to overcome Harper’s absence but the pitching staff is, too. Ranger Suárez allowed four runs on six hits in 6⅔ innings, but that seemed like an insurmountable hole for the Phils to climb out of without Harper in the middle of the order.

“A player like Harper, a heavyweight hitter like him, you’re going to miss him,” said Suárez, who threw a career-high 110 pitches. “The opponent, they’re going to love to see that he’s not in the lineup. But I truly believe that we have a lineup that is built to win games. We’re going to miss him, but we have enough talent to win without him.”

Filling the void left by Harper might not seem as daunting if Nick Castellanos was producing the way the Phillies dreamed he would when they signed him last winter. He went 0-for-4 Wednesday as his OPS dipped to .674. Castellanos is hitting just .212 this month and has not homered since May 30.

“He’s probably trying to do a little bit too much,” interim manager Rob Thomson said. “He’s working at it, that’s for sure. We see improvements in batting practice and early work and things like that, but that hasn’t translated to the game yet.”

The Phillies constructed a lineup that they thought would be deep enough to sustain an absence like Harper’s as they added Castellanos and Kyle Schwarber in a three-day span. But Harper’s place in the middle of the order is a glaring void.

Mickey Moniak, starting for the second straight game, went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts as he struggled to capture the success he had in spring training. Moniak had a 1.012 OPS this season over 89 minor-league plate appearances but that has not translated to the majors, where he has just four hits in 31 at-bats.

The Phillies seem committed to giving Moniak an extended look in center field, but his lack of production could force them to look elsewhere.

“He’s upbeat and says he feels good and says he feels confident,” Thomson said. “We feel like he’s going to produce at some point.”

Teams have shied away from challenging Moniak with fastballs as he’s struggled mightily against breaking pitches out of the zone.

“He’s getting an awful lot of breaking balls right now,” Thomson said. “He has to learn to get the ball up and get it out over the plate. Use the field. They’re working on it. He just has to get comfortable. He has to get reps.”

Mark Appel, nine years after being selected first overall, received a nice ovation after making his major-league debut by pitching a scoreless ninth inning. Appel was promoted last weekend in San Diego as the 30-year-old made the majors five years after he walked away. Appel quit baseball in 2017 before returning to the Phillies last year as a minor leaguer.