Trea Turner and Rob Thomson still puzzled by slump this season, Phillies take caution with closers

PITTSBURGH — For months, Trea Turner could cope with the worst stretch of his career by trusting his track record — “the back of the baseball card,” as Phillies manager Rob Thomson often calls it.

But is the season too far gone for the struggling shortstop’s usual numbers to reappear?

“I think my worst season, in my eyes, was 2018, and I would take that year way over this year,” Turner said. “I never really thought we’d be here, but here we are.”

Indeed, Turner notched career-lows with a .271 average and .760 on-base plus slugging in 2018 with the Washington Nationals. After going 1-for-5 with a double and two strikeouts from the No. 5 spot in the lineup Sunday, he’s batting .242 with a .673 OPS.

Based on his pace of 4.13 at-bats per game, he would have to bat .313 the rest of the way to hoist his average to even .270. And while that hardly seems unreachable for Turner, a .295 career hitter, he hasn’t gotten on a roll at the plate yet.

“For me, it’s [try to] stack good days on top of each other,” Turner said. “I haven’t been able to do that this year. Good game, bad game, good game, bad game, good stretch, bad stretch, but not long enough.”

Manager Rob Thomson dropped Turner to the No. 7 spot in the order Saturday, the lowest he has batted since July 2018. Turner batted fifth Sunday. Thomson believes the Phillies’ offense is at its best when Turner occupies the No. 2 spot — but only when he’s hitting.

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And nobody with the Phillies imagined Turner would go this long without hitting, least of all Turner.

”It was the farthest thing from my mind from how the last four or five seasons have been,” Turner said. “Got to grind it out. Can’t get it all back in one day.“

Or maybe two months. So, Thomson and hitting coach Kevin Long have tried to get Turner to alter his barometer for a successful season. Thomson talked to him about breaking down his performance at the plate into increments of 10 at-bats. String together enough good ones in a row, and Turner can help jump-start the offense.

And if Turner is able to help the Phillies finish strong and reach the postseason, it will dull the overall disappointment of not playing to his typically lofty standards in his first season of an 11-year, $300 million contract.

“You can’t change the past, right?“ Turner said. “My numbers are what they are. I don’t like them. I’ve definitely worked to improve them. It hasn’t gone how I wanted it to. But there’s a lot of baseball left.

“It’s not an individual sport, it’s a team sport. I think I can definitely change games and help the team win and that’s kind of an individual perspective of it. In the grand scheme of things, it’s about winning. That’s what I want to do. That’s why I’m here.”

Keep this in mind as the Phillies pursue pitching depth before the trade deadline Tuesday: Craig Kimbrel and Gregory Soto are on pace for 72 and 71 appearances, respectively.

It’s been a hefty workload for both relievers. Kimbrel, 35, hasn’t topped 70 appearances in a season since 2011; Soto, 28, has never appeared in more than 64 games.

“I’ll put it this way: I’m going to be careful with them,” Thomson said before using both for an inning Sunday.

The Phillies are seeking a back-end starter (Tigers righty Michael Lorenzen is one possibility) as insurance against injury to one of their starters. They have more organizational depth in the bullpen, but if the return for starters is heavy, they could pivot to relief help.

Never mind that Bryson Stott leads the Phillies with a .306 average. Or that he has hit lefties to the tune of .310./364/.400. The second baseman wasn’t in the lineup against 43-year-old lefty Rich Hill.

Thomson explained that he gave Stott a breather in the midst of a stretch of 17 consecutive games without a day off. Stott also had played all but five innings since the All-Star break.

“We’ve got to get guys rest or they’re going to break down,” Thomson said. “I thought today was maybe a good day for that.”

Josh Harrison started at second base. The Phillies also loaded up on right-handed hitters against Hill, who is tougher on lefties. Johan Rojas started in center field over Brandon Marsh, while Edmundo Sosa played third base.

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Lefty reliever José Alvarado (elbow inflammation) threw lightly off a mound Saturday and is scheduled for a more rigorous bullpen session Tuesday. ... In his last five triple-A starts, Bailey Falter has a 1.96 ERA. Griff McGarry has a 2.30 ERA, but also 14 walks in 27⅔ innings, over his last five starts at double A. ... Taijuan Walker (11-4, 4.06 ERA) is scheduled to start Monday in Miami against righty Edward Cabrera (5-6, 4.74 ERA).