8.10 refers to the Phillies bullpen ERA, and relievers have allowed a staggering 44 hits in just 30 innings of work. Nobody is getting the job done. It's gotten to a point where management is counting on the return of David Robertson from Tommy John surgery to bolster this beleaguered bunch. Good luck with that.
The second figure, .194, represents the Phillies batting average with runners in scoring position. Four offensive starters (Rhys Hoskins, Jean Segura, Scott Kingery, and Andrew McCutchen) are all hitting well under .200. Things are so bad that Hoskins got two hits yesterday and his average is still .172.
The Phils are now 4-6 in this 60-game season and are 3.5 games out of first place. That's works out to 10-17 in a full 162-game season. If they have any chance of salvaging this season, the bullpen's gotta bullpen and the hitters gotta hit. It seems so simple. But they just can't do it.
They're mixing up tonight's lineup, looking for offense. Phil Gosselin is leading off as the DH. Hoskins is still hitting second, which I can't understand at all. Drop him down in the order and take some pressure off him.
And with the offense struggling as much as it has, now seems the perfect time to call up Alec Bohm and add him into the lineup. Let him DH, play third, and play first. Give some of the struggling guys a day off. Manager Joe Girardi today told reporters that Bohm is swinging that bat really well at the Phillies alternate site in Allentown. Let him do it here. Where it counts. (Photo from NBCSports Philadelphia)
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