How can the Phillies jump-start their season? Just like last year, it begins at the top of the order.

A year ago this week, after a miserable seven-game trip to Atlanta and New York, the Phillies took a drastic measure in a desperate attempt to turn around their season.

”We made a managerial change last year,” president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said recently, in case anyone forgot, “which we will not be making [again].”

OK, with that affirmation of Rob Thomson’s job security — and with a day off Monday between four games in Atlanta and three in New York — let’s talk about how the 2022 Phillies really reversed their fortunes after firing Joe Girardi: They got more production out of the top two spots in the batting order.

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It’s a formula that would work this season, too. Because for a team that was built to slug — in a season when offense is up across the majors — only the names have changed in a top-of-the-order combination that is every bit the problem through Memorial Day that it was last year.

In starting 25-28, one game better than last season through 53 games, Phillies leadoff hitters — primarily Bryson Stott (35 games) and Trea Turner (14 games) are batting .242/.279/.339 for a .619 OPS that ranks ahead of only the White Sox (.599). Last year, en route to a 22-29 start under Girardi, a combination of six Phillies leadoff hitters batted .179/.252/.297 (.549 OPS).

But Kyle Schwarber (more on him later) got blazing hot and led off for the rest of the season. The Phillies got a .242/.331/.535 batting line (.866 OPS) from atop the order in 111 regular-season games under Thomson. Not coincidentally, they went 65-46.

The two-hole has been nearly as punchless. In the absence of Rhys Hoskins, out for the season after a spring-training knee injury, Phillies No. 2 hitters — mostly Turner (38 games) and Schwarber (10 games) — are batting .228/.272/.397 for a .669 OPS, eighth-worst in the majors.

”Those are the table setters,” Thomson said of Stott and Turner. “You’re expecting them to get on base and create some havoc and set it up for the middle of the lineup.”

And if the No. 1 and 2 hitters are ineffective, it can weigh down an entire offense. Consider the just-completed series in Atlanta. Stott and Turner combined to go 6-for-16 with three walks in two wins over the Braves. In the two losses, they went 2-for-18 without any walks.

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Turner has made 169 outs, tied for the most among National League hitters; Stott has made 158 outs. It’s a staggering number and a major reason why the Phillies rank 21st with 4.28 runs per game.

But they also represent the team’s best top-of-the-order options. Thomson has fought the urge to drop Turner in the order. He believes Stott and Turner can get on a similar roll as Schwarber and Hoskins when the Phillies took off last year.

”I do,” Thomson said. “I think, in time, that’s going to happen. Once we get both those guys going, I think everybody will maybe follow suit and we’ll get this thing going.”

Other observations before the Phillies meet the Mets for the first time this season:

It’s the story line that won’t go away: How will the Phillies fix their fifth-starter problem?

Dylan Covey wasn’t the answer even before the Braves blitzed him for seven runs in the first inning Sunday night. Maybe the Phillies will go back to the opener/bulk model Saturday in Washington. In time, maybe Griff McGarry will be stretched out. Team officials still believe Andrew Painter will be a viable solution later in the season.

But many teams have fifth-starter headaches. Few have a No. 3 starter with a 9.82 ERA.

» READ MORE: Who needs pitching? Everyone, it seems, and there are no easy answers for the Phillies.

Ranger Suárez will drag that mark to the mound Tuesday night in New York against Mets starter Kodai Senga’s “ghost forkball.” Suárez has made three starts since returning from a spring-training elbow strain and allowed three, four, and five runs without getting beyond the fifth inning despite getting up to 85 pitches.

Suárez claimed last week, through a team interpreter, that he feels healthy. But he has lacked his typical command, especially of his off-speed pitches. He has allowed four extra-base hits on his change-up after giving up 12 all of last season. He hung a change-up last week that Arizona’s Evan Longoria banged off the facing of the second deck in left field.

Thomson noted that Suárez has also struggled out of the stretch with runners on base. Maybe it’s as simple as getting acclimated to the pitch clock.

But as Schwarber told reporters Sunday night, the Phillies “lean on … the rocks in our rotation.” Suárez is one of the rocks. If he’s not right, it’s a bigger problem than finding a No. 5 starter.

In seven starts, Matt Strahm has a 3.90 ERA, a lower mark than every Phillies starter except Zack Wheeler (3.60).

Why, then, isn’t Strahm a consideration for the fifth-starter spot?

Team officials have repeatedly noted that Strahm hasn’t pitched more than 45 innings in a season since 2019. He’s already up to 37⅓. Thomson isn’t inclined to push Strahm now and sacrifice his health and/or availability later in the season, especially given his effectiveness in the bullpen (0.93 ERA in seven appearances).

“I don’t want to put him at risk,” Thomson said.

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Two months into the post-shift era, the removal of an extra defender on the right side of the field hasn’t helped Schwarber collect more hits. He will lug a .168 average into the Mets series.

Here’s the strange part: Schwarber is pulling the ball to the right side at a higher rate (53.8%) and striking out at a lower rate (28.8%) than last season. But he isn’t hitting the ball as hard or on the barrel as often.

“Can it be June tomorrow?” Schwarber joked last week.

In case you didn’t know, June is Schwarber’s month. Last June, he had 12 homers and a 1.065 OPS; in 2021, he hit 16 homers with a 1.122 OPS in June. He has more career homers in June (47) than any other month.

Three of the last four NL champs were turtles, not hares. The 2022 Phillies followed the path of the 2021 Braves (30-35 on June 16) and the 2019 Nationals (19-31 on May 23).

But for each of those comeback stories, there are dozens of teams that never launched. Bryce Harper doesn’t want to test it.

”I don’t like the mindset of, ‘Oh, it’s early, it’s May,’” Harper said last week. “You play this game with urgency. We need to have urgency every day that we play. It doesn’t matter if we’re in first place, last place or in the middle.”

» READ MORE: They’ve gone through it, and are amazed by Bryce Harper’s speedy return: ‘He’s a different breed’