Philadelphia Phillies: Whatever is going on with the struggling lineup?

The Philadelphia Phillies experiment with returning to their 2022 lineup began May 2 and lasted, apparently, four games. That experiment seemed to be prompted by the return of superstar Bryce Harper to the lineup after an abbreviated surgical rehab of his right elbow.

Second baseman Bryson Stott, who had hit leadoff usually before Harper’s return, was returned to that spot in the lineup Sunday afternoon, apparently validating the uproar from fans on social media when Kyle Schwarber was reinstated in the one-hole earlier in the week. The Phillies beat the Red Sox Sunday afternoon, 6-1. Both Stott and Schwarber contributed, Schwarber a two-run homer from the fifth slot in the lineup.

Give manager Rob Thomson credit. He was able to figure out that a guy who just went 0-for-19 shouldn’t be your leadoff hitter. It produced a six-game losing streak.

OK, that probably seemed sarcastic, and to be fair, Thomson has managed the Phillies with some flexibility since he took over last June, given his instinctive view that a set lineup is good for his players’ mindsets.

The Phillies have stumbled through the minor failure of Rob Thomson’s favored lineup.

There was no ignoring the fact, however, that 0-for-4, followed by three straight 0-for-5s by Thomson’s leadoff choice wasn’t working. But it remained to be seen what would happen on Tuesday, May 9. The Phillies skipper had had two off-days in the stretch since reinstalling Schwarber as leadoff hitter, then the backout of that possibly dead-end street.

How much mulling over had Thomson done? Who might lead off on Tuesday night against the Blue Jays?

Indeed, in the long run, could the Philadelphia Phillies manager, whose team had won 87 games the previous regular season, stir a pot that would produce a 90-plus win soup, minimally?

Would he bat Brandon Marsh first Tuesday against the enormous right-hander Alek Manoah? Or might analytics, or some coach, suggest to him that Edmundo Sosa was the choice? Why not stay with Stott?

Something was needed to make a 16-19 team in the same division as the loaded Braves and Mets more interesting.

By mid-afternoon, the announced lineup for the Phillies on their website had Stott first and Schwarber fifth. And, by the game’s end, almost predictably, that arrangement seemed almost irrelevant. Stott and Schwarber together got no hits. Each walked once, Stott drove in a run on a fielder’s choice, and Schwarber fouled a ball off his foot and eventually left the game.

In other words, baseball remained a team sport. The big blow in an 8-4 Phillies win was a two-run homer by Nick Castellanos. Marsh also drove in two from the eight-hole.

There seemed no reason, however, to tinker with another leadoff hitter for a bit. The Phillies had fumbled their way into a two-game win streak.