Phillies manager Rob Thomson is not considering any lineup changes entering the do-or-die Game 7 of the NLCS tomorrow night.
His message on the topic postgame was short and direct: "Zero," Thomson said about considerations of lineup changes.
The question was asked of Thomson after Game 6 saw the Phillies' lineup total just one run on six hits against Merrill Kelly and the Diamondbacks bullpen. Among the biggest duds were Trea Turner, Bryce Harper and Nick Castellanos, who combined to go 0/11 with one walk and five strikeouts.
The Phillies left seven total runners on base and went 1/7 line with runners in scoring position. But those numbers don't even tell the entire story. The majority of those chances came in the first two innings as Alec Bohm and Bryson Stott failed to come through in the first, and the same for Turner in the second. The Phillies went on to look outmatched from the third inning on.
It was a disastrous offensive performance given how much was at stake.
There have been many critical of the Phillies' lineup since midway through the NLDS against the Atlanta Braves, specifically with Alec Bohm still hitting cleanup. Even with two singles tonight, Bohm is hitting just .233 this postseason with an OPS of .629.
Opposing teams attempt to avoid pitching to Bryce Harper, so no spot in the Phillies lineup sees more RBI opportunities than No. 4. The Phillies third baseman has had a rough postseason in those situations.
But Bohm was far from the issue in Game 6. The entire Phillies lineup disappeared in the biggest game of the season. And this is Thomson's managerial approach: he tends to show trust in his players by avoiding any large-scale lineup or staff changes.
To his credit, it has worked fabulously since he took over early last season.
Thomson's indication is we'll see the same lineup out there tomorrow night. It is now on the players to send the team back to the World Series and make the city forget Game 6 ever took place.
First pitch is scheduled for 8:07 p.m. at Citizens Bank Park. It will be Ranger Suarez for the Phillies vs. rookie Brandon Pfaadt for the Diamondbacks. The game can be heard, as always, here on 94WIP.