Phillies’ bats go quiet in 2-0 loss to Giants as Gabe Kapler gets 200th career win

Gabe Kapler stepped out of the third-base dugout a few minutes past 7 o’clock Monday night. He gestured to the Phanatic, then walked to home plate to exchange lineup cards.

Cue the boos.

But that was it. If some among the announced crowd of 9,510 at Citizens Bank Park held back, or if others were not yet in their socially distanced seats, they missed their chance to welcome back the former Phillies manager.

Over the next three hours, Kapler didn’t have to walk to the mound to make a pitching change or step on the field to challenge a play. He simply led the San Francisco Giants to a no-muss, no-fuss 2-0 win — the 200th of his managerial career, no less — against the shorthanded and subdued Phillies.

And by the time he finally walked out to congratulate his players, it wasn’t clear whether the booing stragglers were upset with him or with the home team.

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“We just haven’t clicked together as a team,” second baseman Jean Segura said after the Phillies scored less than three runs for the fourth time in six games. “A couple guys get hot, a couple guys get cold. We just need to click in together because at the end of the day, we’re going to need it.”

It isn’t that the Phillies didn’t have chances. They had seven hits and drew four walks. But they went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left 11 on base, two apiece in the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth innings against Giants starter Kevin Gausman.

Leadoff hitter Andrew McCutchen finished 0-for-4 with a walk and is 8-for-51 (.157) through 16 games. A change could be coming. Manager Joe Girardi said “it’s possible that I might do something a little bit different.” Segura could be a top-of-the-order candidate.

But the Phillies are already on their third center fielder, and thus far, Mickey Moniak hasn’t been any better than Adam Haseley or Roman Quinn. Moniak went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts and is 0-for-12 with eight whiffs since getting called up last week.

The No. 8 spot in the order, occupied by Phillies center fielders, has been a black hole. From Haseley to Quinn to Moniak, they haven’t gotten a hit since April 9, an 0-for-35 drought. Between them, they are 5-for-56 (.089) with a .203 on-base percentage and .107 slugging percentage.

“We’re not happy with what’s going on,” Girardi said. “I know they’re all capable of hitting at a much higher clip. They’re just not doing it for whatever reason. But we need someone to be somewhat productive out there.”

The Phillies were without three players — reliever José Alvarado, starter Matt Moore, and utility infielder Ronald Torreyes — who entered MLB’s COVID-19 protocol earlier in the day. They also didn’t have shortstop Didi Gregorius, who sat out with swelling in his right elbow. Fill-in Nick Maton picked up his first career hit in his major-league debut.

The Giants got the only runs they needed in the third inning, when Brandon Belt slugged a two-run homer against Phillies starter Chase Anderson.

Any time the Phillies seemed to have Gausman in danger, they let him off the hook. They’ve scored 19 runs in the last seven games, including nine in one game last Friday night.

“What is pressing? Guys trying too hard? I think that’s possible,” Girardi said. “I think guys are frustrated. I think we’re trying too hard. It could just be lack of seeing [Gausman] as well. We chased some pitches on him. We had a number of chances to get to him and we just weren’t able to do it.”

J.T. Realmuto struck out with runners on second and third in the third inning. Alec Bohm flied out with runners on the corners in the fifth. McCutchen grounded out to squelch a two-out rally in the sixth. The Phillies couldn’t cash in on Bohm’s leadoff single in the eighth.

But the depths of the Phillies’ offensive shortcomings were evident in the fourth inning. Bohm worked a leadoff walk and went to third on Segura’s double to left-center. But Moniak struck out on three pitches, Maton went down swinging, and pinch-hitter Brad Miller grounded out.

Rally over.

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The Phillies’ offensive struggles, combined with a tweak in the rotation last week, caused Girardi to manage aggressively in the fourth inning. He pulled Anderson after only 70 pitches to put Miller at the plate and asked his rested bullpen to get 15 outs.

It didn’t pay off. But thanks to two scoreless innings from long reliever David Hale and one apiece by Sam Coonrod, Brandon Kintzler, and JoJo Romero, it also didn’t backfire.

The Phillies just couldn’t come up with a big hit, and Kapler walked off with a milestone victory. Nice way for him to come back, isn’t it?