Phillies Skipper Shares His Thoughts on Team’s Slow Start

The Philadelphia Phillies have had a notable start to the new MLB season, but not for the reasons the team was hoping for. 

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Through the first five games of the new year, Philly’s bats have been lackluster to say the least. Outside of home runs from Kyle Schwarber, Alec Bohm, and Rafael Marchan, there hasn’t been a whole lot of action from Philadelphia’s lineup against the Texas Rangers and in their first games against the Washington Nationals. 

Before Philadelphia's second game of their series against the Nationals on Tuesday, the Phillies had an OPS of .595, which ranked 24th, and their 41 strikeouts ranked 18th in MLB. 

After Monday’s 3-1 loss, the Phillies hadn’t held a lead in a game since last Thursday on Opening Day. 

It’s hard not to be a little discouraged by these numbers from the outside looking in, but Philadelphia’s skipper isn’t ringing the alarm bells.

In fact, he’s far from it.  

Despite the slow and in many ways frustrating start, Phillies skipper Rob Thomson isn’t worried about his team in the long run and knows they’ll turn it around.

“We’ve got 158 [games] to go,” said Thomson before Tuesday’s game.

“You're gonna run through three-game stretches, sometimes five-game stretches where you don't hit, or you don't pitch, you don't play well.
It's just kind of magnified because it's really the start of the year. They're gonna get it. We're gonna get on the roll, it's just a matter of time.”

Mar 30, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson (49)] argues a call with umpire Marvin Hudson (51) against the Washington Nationals during the first inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

Philadelphia’s manager does have a point. Teams are bound for a rough patch or two at some point throughout the season; it’s inevitable. For the Phillies, one of those slumps is unfortunately coming in the first week of the season, but that doesn’t mean a below-.600 OPS will be the status quo for this roster throughout September. 

That said, some of the same struggles that were alarming during Spring Training are also showing themselves early on in the season. 

The Phillies lineup has so much talent, both with proven veterans and prospects with plenty of potential. At some point, one would think they have to start stringing together some hits and manufacturing some runs soon. 

Thomson also noted that the Phillies need to get back to manufacturing more runs, and with Philadelphia’s offense, could start to turn around. 

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