After a disappointing six-game road trip against the Atlanta Braves and the St. Louis Cardinals, the Philadelphia Phillies returned home to Citizens Bank Park on Monday as they prepared to open a four-game set against the San Francisco Giants.
Before the first pitch on Monday night, the Phillies made one noticeable change to their lineup, sitting Brandon Marsh and starting Johan Rojas in center field. Marsh has struggled big time at the plate this season, slashing .108/.250/.189 with one home run and four RBI.
The 27-year-old outfielder has no other extra-base hits this season, as he’s in the middle of a dismal 0-for-26 streak. Phillies manager Rob Thomson explained his decision to sit Marsh, telling reporters that he believes Marsh is putting a lot of pressure on himself.
“He’s thinking about it quite a bit right now and everybody goes through it at some point, Thomson said via Brooke Destra of NBC Sports Philadelphia. I just thought maybe give him a day or two off and just let him watch for a minute.
I think he’s really thinking about (his lack of offense). He really feels like he’s letting his teammates down. He’s putting a lot of pressure on himself to do well. When you get to that point I think it’s time just to relax for a minute.”
After Sunday’s 7-0 shutout loss to the Cardinals, Marsh said he feels like he’s letting his teammates down and not doing his part.
While Marsh isn’t performing up to the standard we saw in Spring Training or the first half of last season, he isn’t the only player to blame for the Phillies’ offensive struggles. Alec Bohm, Max Kepler, J.T. Realmuto, and Trea Turner are scuffling at the plate in various ways.
That said, for the Phillies to get where they want to go this season, they need Marsh to play better at the plate. They can’t afford to have the bottom third of their lineup be an automatic out, which is their current situation.
Therefore, if there’s a silver lining for Marsh and the rest of the Phillies’ struggling hitters, they must remember the baseball season is a marathon, not a sprint. It’s not ideal that multiple guys are not hitting, but that can easily turn around in the next few games.
However, Phillies fans want to see improvement quickly as there’s pressure on this group to get the job done this season.
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