Phils' grip on WC spot tenuous after 4th straight loss

CHICAGO -- Following Tuesday’s loss, Bryce Harper acknowledged that the Phillies needed to play better down the stretch. They still controlled their own destiny despite having lost eight of their last 11 games.

The Phils, however, continued their recent struggles with a 4-2 loss against the Cubs on Wednesday night at Wrigley Field, extending their losing streak to four games. It’s the team’s second skid of at least four games in September.

“We've got to fight through it [and] keep moving forward,” interim manager Rob Thomson said. “That’s what we’ve said all along, and that’s what this group usually does.”

The loss drops the Phillies to 83-71 on the season and only a half-game ahead of the Brewers (83-72) for the final National League Wild Card spot. Philadelphia owns the tiebreaker over Milwaukee as a result of winning the head-to-head season series, four games to two. The Phillies also trail the Padres (86-69) by 2 1/2 games for the second Wild Card spot.

Despite the recent skid, however, the Phils remain confident in their chances to make the postseason for the first time since 2011.

“I think the biggest thing is we've got to be able to stay positive through this whole thing,” Kyle Schwarber said. “Just because we’re down to this last road trip and we’re pushing for a Wild Card spot, we can’t let those thoughts creep into our head. We have to have the same thoughts that we’ve had through the whole year, where we fight, scratch, claw to win a baseball game -- and that’s what we’re going to have to keep doing.”

Added Thomson: “Just stay positive and keep talking to them. Take it one day at a time, and I think that’s the only thing you can do. Get back to basics [and] keep it simple.”

With their ninth loss in 12 games, the Phillies have seen their lead in the Wild Card race quickly diminish. On the morning of Sept. 15, Philadelphia held a 2 1/2-game lead over the Padres for the second Wild Card spot and a 4 1/2-game lead over the Brewers.

This recent collapse, though, doesn’t have the team panicking.

“Just believe in ourselves [that] it’s going to turn around,” said Aaron Nola, who allowed four runs across six innings. “Play tomorrow as hard as we can, play all the way to the ninth inning and get back on this winning train.”

The Phillies couldn’t muster much offensively on Wednesday, going just 2-for-16 with runners in scoring position and leaving 12 men on base, despite 11 hits in the game.

If Philadelphia wants to end its 11-year postseason drought, the offense will have to pick it up down the stretch. The Phillies have scored four runs or fewer in eight of their past 12 games.

“I think they’re trying to do too much at times,” Thomson said. “I’m not sure if that’s pressure, but I think there’s other times during the season where they tried to do too much, too. We’ve gone on stretches like that. So we've got to come out of it -- and we will.”

More importantly, though, the offense has to execute, especially with runners in scoring position. It’s been the Phillies’ recipe for success all season and when they can’t execute in that area, it's no surprise the offensive numbers dip.

Prior to Sept. 15, when it came to hitting with runners in scoring position, the Phillies ranked first in batting average (.277), sixth in on-base percentage (.344) and third in slugging percentage (.462).

But in those situations over their last 12 games, the Phils rank 25th in batting average (.206), 26th in OBP (.280) and 28th in slugging (.299).

“It’s been one of those little funks right now,” Schwarber said. “Obviously, we don’t want it to be happening right now and we’re gonna have to find a way out of it. We’re not happy with what’s going on, because we want to score runs. We’re gonna have to capitalize on those.”

The Phillies will look to end their losing streak on Thursday in the series finale against the Cubs, hoping to change things before heading off to face the Nationals.

“We just didn’t get it done today and we've got an opportunity to get it done tomorrow, and that’s what we’re going to have to do,” Schwarber said. “We’re going to have to learn from it, flip the script and try to win a game tomorrow and go on from there.”