The Phillies wanted to ‘try to shore up some areas’ on offense, so they made a change to their batting practice routine

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Phillies typically hit off of their curveball machine in the batting cages, but on Friday, they did something different.

They hit off of it on the field.

Manager Rob Thomson said it helps players see how far the ball is traveling, and a time when off-speed pitches are eluding them, players have been eager to get extra work in.

Time will tell if it helps. The offense combined for six runs against the Atlanta Braves this week. They also combined for 32 strikeouts over that span, with just five walks. Players are trying to swing their way out of slumps, and it’s not working.

The problem starts and ends with chasing. From April to May, the Phillies were swinging at pitches out of the zone at a rate of 31.5%, per FanGraphs. That was roughly middle of the pack among in the MLB. That number increased to 33.5%, from June to August 23. They’re swinging at chase pitches at a rate of 35% in August, alone. (O-swing percentage is defined as the percentage of pitches a hitter swings at outside of the strike zone.)

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The only way out of it is to force pitchers to throw strikes, and the only way to do that is to show they won’t swing with reckless abandon. Teams particularly have less incentive to throw fastballs in the zone because the Phillies have shown ability to crush them. So, it’s been a lot of off-speed out of the zone — which is why the curveball machine was out on the field on Friday afternoon.

It’ll be out there on Saturday, too.

“Tomorrow’s batting practice will be all curveball machine,” Thomson said. “Try to shore up some areas.”

Despite its name, the curveball machine is a catchall term for all of the machine work the Phillies do. On Friday, they focused on sliders. If they’re going to face a starter who throws more cutters, they’ll switch the machine to that setting.

But preparation aside, what matters most is that they aren’t pressing — and chasing — when the lights come on. And amid a slump, that is easier said than done.

Outfielder Austin Hays (left hamstring strain) was reinstated from of the 10-day injured list on Friday and was in the lineup. As a corresponding move, Cal Stevenson was optioned to Lehigh Valley.

Hays hit .263/.282/.395 in 10 games with the Phillies before he was placed on the injured list on Aug. 9.

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“Yeah, I am [excited],” Thomson said of having Hays back in the lineup. “We’ve got to be careful with how we use him, just to build him back up as best we can so we don’t put him in harm’s way, but, yeah, having that other bat in the lineup is big.”

Thomson said that he’ll check with Hays after the game, but he’ll likely go two or three games in a row and then take a day off.

Stevenson was called up when Hays went to the injured list. He hit .200/.333/.200 in 10 at-bats across seven games.

“He was great,” Thomson said of Stevenson. “He was a pro. He’s actually on his way back because he wanted to get back playing tomorrow. He did nothing wrong. It was a roster crunch, really. And he’s really had good at-bats for us, to tell you the truth.”