Despite slow start, Thomson has 'all the confidence in the world' in Phils

PHILADELPHIA -- A rumor spread on Wednesday that the Phillies and Reds needed to play baseball on a cold, windy and rainy night at Citizens Bank Park -- not because they had the game already on the schedule or because they wanted to preserve Thursday’s off-day, but because there was a wedding scheduled for Thursday at the ballpark.

Seriously. A wedding.

It was nonsense, of course. The Phillies and Reds played through the elements because they could, although the Phils didn’t enjoy themselves at all compared with Tuesday, when Bryce Harper hit three homers in a victory over Cincinnati. They lost Wednesday’s series finale, 4-1, to fall to 2-4.

It is not the start they envisioned, but there is no reason to worry. Not yet.

“We know we’re good,” second baseman Bryson Stott said. “I think we’re off to a better start than last year, as bad as that sounds. We play 162. Obviously, you don’t want to throw games away like that, or any of the other ones we lost, but we’ve got to get them next time.”

The Phillies started last season 1-5, but they rebounded and reached Game 7 of the NLCS. They started 3-3 in 2022 and made the World Series.

“It is what it is,” ace Zack Wheeler said. “There’s nothing we can do about it now. We’ve just got to play a little more consistently and we’ll be right where we want to be.”

Wheeler allowed three hits, three runs (one earned) and one walk and struck out 10 in six innings. He has a 0.75 ERA after two starts after pitching six scoreless innings on Opening Day.

But the Phils have scored only three runs in those two games, and they are batting .223 with a .660 OPS in six games overall. They have struck out 54 times in 220 plate appearances (24.5 percent), although they have walked 22 times (10 percent).

The big hits haven’t come as expected.

“We’re a better offensive club than we’re showing, obviously,” manager Rob Thomson said. “I have all the confidence in the world in them, but we’re off to a little bit of a slow start.”

Stott couldn’t scoop up a ground ball from Nick Martini to start the third, and the error allowed Martini to reach. Wheeler hit Jonathan India with a pitch to put runners on first and second with one out. After Will Benson grounded out for the second out, Christian Encarnacion-Strand doubled to left to clear the bases and make it 2-0. Jake Fraley and Elly De La Cruz then hit back-to-back doubles in the sixth to make it 3-0.

Kyle Schwarber’s solo homer to right in the sixth cut the deficit to 3-1.

The Phillies had loaded the bases against Cincinnati starter Frankie Montas when the Reds brought in left-hander Justin Wilson to face Brandon Marsh.

Marsh fouled out to third baseman Jeimer Candelario to end the inning.

Thomson could have pinch-hit Alec Bohm for Marsh, but he liked Marsh’s first two at-bats, which included a single in the fifth. The Phillies have been walking a line between saying Marsh can play regularly against left-handers while also resting him fairly regularly against them.

Marsh sat twice over the weekend against lefties. Whit Merrifield and Cristian Pache each got a start in left instead.

“[Marsh has] got to get left-handed reps,” Thomson said. “His at-bats against lefties have actually been pretty good. And I was saving Bohm for the [Johan] Rojas spot.”

The Phillies didn’t threaten after the sixth. After the game they packed their bags to catch a train to Washington, where they will play three games against the Nationals this weekend before playing three early next week in St. Louis.

A good week on the road, and the Phils will put this week behind them.

“Everybody is still locked into playing well and getting off to a good start and winning the division,” Thomson said.