Bryce Harper, Trea Turner look tired as Phillies slump, but Eagles secondary with James Bradberry looks ... good?

Two disparate forces simultaneously are at work in Philadelphia, and neither could have been predicted to be acting this way at this stage.

At the height of summer’s heat, and despite recent layoffs that should have reinvigorated their legs, the Phillies’ Nos. 2 and 3 hitters are spiraling in a lockstep slump that is taking the rest of the team down with them.

Meanwhile, across the street, the Eagles seem to have constructed a secondary that could be legitimately dangerous after suffering through a season in which, during the historic slump of 2023, it was the worst position group among a host of bad position groups.

First, to the Phillies.

After the Marlins shut them out Tuesday, they had lost 11 of 15 games. Even the blood of Rob Thomson, cold-blooded Canadian, is beginning to boil. He apparently called a five-alarm team meeting Wednesday, which, given his Ontarian gentility, could jeopardize his ability to reenter his home country. Why? Because, in those 15 games, he (and we) had witnessed struggles from starting pitchers, bullpen blowups, and younger players overwhelmed by the moment — all of which is survivable.

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Your $630 million Nos. 2 and 3 hitters combining for a .189 batting average and seven extra-base hits? That is not survivable.

Aaron Nola is Aaron Nola, and, like all No. 2 starters, he will give up a four-spot now and then, as he has done in three of his last five outings, all Phillies losses.

Left-handed relievers José Alvarado and Matt Strahm, who has six blown saves, are going to stink once or twice a month. So will right-hander Jeff Hoffman. Occasionally, when they stink, they’ll burn you.

Outfielder Brandon Marsh and second baseman Bryson Stott are defensive support cast whose left-handed bats have gone to sleep. But that’s all they are — supporting players.

Harper, at $330 million, and Turner, at $300 million, are the studs.

It’s their job to compensate for Marsh and Stott, for Nola and Cristopher Sánchez, for Alvarado and Strahm and Hoffman.

And they are not.

They look tired.

This is remarkable.

Turner had six weeks off with a hamstring injury before returning in mid-July. Harper missed two weeks with a hamstring injury, played five games, then enjoyed the All-Star break. Yes, they’re both 31, but they have not been overworked.

» READ MORE: The slumping Phillies are looking for answers. Here are three ideas to help snap out of it.

What’s more, historically, August typically is the best offensive month for each of them. It’s their hittin’ season.

They’re wasting a good run by Kyle Schwarber, who’s hitting .315 during the swoon, with seven homers and 16 walks, and that includes a zero-for-14 skid the past four games.

Similarly, Nick Castellanos is puttering along at a respectable .264 clip over the last 15-game run, and he’s struck out only eight times.

So, what to do?

Slotting Edmundo Sosa in at shortstop for a couple of days might reignite Turner, who was hitting .349 a month ago. Turner sat Wednesday.

» READ MORE: How are the Phillies channeling their NLCS Game 7 heartbreak? Players who have been there know.

Maybe using Sosa at third base and shifting Alec Bohm to first for a couple of days will settle Harper, who had a .987 OPS a month ago.

At any rate, Thomson going ballistic at a team meeting isn’t going to spur Harper and Turner into sudden returns to proficiency.

They work like dogs and overthink the game; if anything, they’re probably trying too hard.

Maybe a little bit of rest will bring them back to themselves.

The most encouraging element in Nick Sirianni’s make-or-break training camp has been the least likely development imaginable.

The Eagles reacquired playmaking safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson to reinforce the subpar secondary that leaked for most of 2023, but a shoulder injury has rendered him irrelevant for the meat of training camp. In his place, disgraced cornerback James Bradberry has played well.

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“He’s doing pretty damn good there,” said chronically honest defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. “He’s got a good feel for football, which has carried over to the safety position for him. I think he understands the game from a high level through his experience and through his intelligence, and it’s helped him in the transition to safety. He’s been doing a good job.”

Fangio sounded as surprised as anyone.

Bradberry isn’t the only surprise.

Isaiah Rodgers, whom the Eagles signed last year to stash while he served a gambling suspension, has been remarkably steady. But that might not be good enough to unseat Kelee Ringo, a 6-foot-2, 207-pound fourth-rounder in his second season out of Georgia who feels bigger than his measurements.

» READ MORE: Cooper DeJean’s return could shake up the Eagles’ depth chart at cornerback

The secondary was expected to be a work-in-progress weakness for the difficult early part of the Eagles’ schedule.

Entering the second preseason game Thursday night at New England, that secondary looks like it might be one of the team’s strengths.