Rob Thomson looks to get ‘back to the basics’ at the midpoint of the Phillies’ season

HOUSTON — While the All-Star break is generally considered the symbolic midpoint of the MLB season, the Phillies officially passed the halfway marker on Thursday.

The 2-1 loss to the Astros came in the Phillies’ 81st game of 2025, bringing their record to 47-34. The Phillies certainly didn’t reach the milestone on a high note, following a three-game sweep at the hands of Houston in which they scored a single run.

“I don’t think we’ve played our best baseball,” Trea Turner said.

Phillies manager Rob Thomson said the starting pitching has overall exceeded his expectations in the first half. But his general diagnosis on the offense’s current struggles is players trying to do too much, leading them to get away from good habits.

“We just got to get back to basics. Get good pitches to hit, stay in the zone,” Thomson said.

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So far, the Phillies haven’t seen a lot of the power that has come to be expected out of their lineup in previous years. With 83 home runs at the halfway point, the Phillies are on pace for 163 this year, well short of the 198 they hit last regular season and the 220 they hit in 2023.

Some of that has been due to Bryce Harper, who has nine homers on the season, being out the lineup for most of June. Kyle Schwarber is currently the only Phillie with double-digit homers, with 24.

“I think we definitely have more of that in there,” said Turner, who also has nine. “We’ll find ways to do it. I think it’s pretty obvious to us. We all want you know that OPS to be higher and slug to be higher, and we do that pretty quickly with homers.”

The Phillies have a stretch of tough opponents ahead of them as they try to right the ship before the All-Star break. After three games in Atlanta, they will face three teams with records above .500: San Diego (two series), Cincinnati, and San Francisco.

And with 81 games now in the rearview mirror, the urgency starts to ramp up.

“We’re starting to get to that time of the year where these games really count,” Turner said. “Early on, you can say you have a lot of time left, and when you get to that halfway point, it’s time to start going. So we gotta turn this around tomorrow and try to win some ball games.”

Harper (right wrist) faced velocity for the first time since going on the injured list, hitting off the pitching machine on Thursday. He took about 75 swings in total, and is progressing toward hitting on the field this weekend in Atlanta.

Harper will not be going on a rehab assignment, but the Phillies may have him face live pitching before he returns.

“Velo, breaking ball timing, make sure his timing’s right, whether we do it off the Trajekt [pitching machine], or bring a pitcher in here or something,” Thomson said. “But we’ve got to make sure his timing’s right, so he comes here and produces.”

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In 13 games in June, outfield prospect Justin Crawford has been hitting .353 with a .930 OPS for triple-A Lehigh Valley. Crawford had a 3-for-4 game on Wednesday, which included a home run. Thomson said recent reports on him have been positive.

“[He’s been] playing great,” he said. “Swinging the bat. He’s been good.”

Thomson added that Crawford has “absolutely” put himself in the conversation for a call-up at some point.

Thursday was a recovery day for Aaron Nola (rib), who threw from 90 feet the day prior. The Phillies are taking it day-by-day, and do not have a timeline for when he may get off a mound. ... Mick Abel (2-1,3.47 ERA) is scheduled to start Friday’s series opener in Atlanta.