Can Bohm's glove match his standout bat?
PHILADELPHIA -- Alec Bohm has been so good lately that Phillies manager Joe Girardi hit him second on Tuesday night at Citizens Bank Park.
Bohm earned the spot.
“His at-bats have been probably more consistent than anyone we’ve had the whole season,” Girardi said before a 6-4 loss to the Rangers.
Bohm is batting .322 with two home runs, 14 RBIs and a team-high .855 OPS (minimum 30 plate appearances). He singled and scored in the first inning and doubled in the fifth, but he made two defensive mistakes in the sixth that led to three unearned runs.
“You see the score,” Bohm said. “It lost us the game.”
Bohm made an error on a ground ball hit to him with a runner on first and no outs. He backhanded the ball, then bobbled it getting it out of his glove, which prevented him from throwing to second for a force out. He threw to first instead, but the throw arrived late.
“I’ve got to catch the ball, transfer the ball and throw the ball,” Bohm said.
It was Bohm’s first error since his three-error game on April 11 against the Mets. Bohm had been perfect in 41 chances since that game, playing so well that he became the Phillies’ everyday third baseman after Girardi started the season playing Bohm, Johan Camargo and Bryson Stott there. Bohm entered Tuesday tied for seventh among 40 qualified third baseman with +1 Outs Above Average, according to Statcast. He tied for ninth out of 19 third basemen with -1 Defensive Runs Saved, according to FanGraphs.
“He’s been playing great,” Girardi said. “It’s one night and we’ve got to move on.”
Zach Reks’ two-out double scored both runners to make it 5-3. Bohm then took too long to get the ball out of his glove on a ground ball from Marcus Semien, who was safe at first.
Reks scored to make it 6-3.
“The sun is going to come up tomorrow,” Bohm said. “I’ve got to find a way to get over it before 6:45 [p.m.] tomorrow.”
The loss dropped the Phillies to 11-13. Texas improved to 9-14.
It is a game the Phillies needed to win. They had chances, before and after the three-run sixth. Left-hander Ranger Suárez made mistakes in the middle of the plate. He threw a 2-2 changeup to Mitch Garver in the first. Garver hit a two-run homer. He threw a 1-2 slider to Jonah Heim in the fourth. Heim hit a solo homer.
“He made mistakes that were big mistakes,” Girardi said.
Suárez has a 4.63 ERA after five starts. After he allowed three runs in only one of his 12 starts last season, he has allowed three runs in three of his first five this year.
But the Phillies were 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position, too. They had runners on second and third with no outs in the seventh, but did not score.
“There comes a time when you’ve got to start winning more games,” Bohm said. “But there’s no panic about it. Tonight’s stuff -- that hurts. But we’ll keep moving on.”
And Bohm will keep playing. They need his bat in the lineup. They need his glove, too.
“He showed that he is able to respond pretty well, so I would expect him to do it again,” Girardi said.