What's the Phillies' biggest concern heading into the final stretch of the season?
-- Tom S., Newtown Square, Pa.
It's the offense, although the defense has remained a season-long issue. As much hand-wringing as there has been at times from fans regarding the rotation, the Phillies have one of the strongest starting staffs in baseball. It ranks seventh with a 3.70 ERA and sixth with a 3.76 xFIP. The Phils' bullpen has a 2.73 ERA since July 1, too. It is the best mark in baseball in that span.
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There is no reason to think the Phillies will not pitch well enough down the stretch. But will they hit?
Philadelphia hit .184 with a .543 OPS on its 2-4 road trip through Arizona and San Diego. The Phils have hit .216 with a .627 OPS during a 7-8 stretch since July 26. Numbers like that are exactly why they acquired Asdrubal Cabrera, Wilson Ramos and Justin Bour.
Ramos' eventual return should help. He hit .297 with 14 home runs, 53 RBIs and an .834 OPS before he injured his left hamstring last month. When Ramos is activated from the DL, he will immediately become the Phillies' second-most productive hitter behind Rhys Hoskins. Ramos spent most of the season hitting fourth for Tampa Bay. He probably should hit there for Philadelphia, too. After Carlos Santana reached a season-high .804 OPS on June 23, he has hit .192 with a .650 OPS since. Manager Gabe Kapler has been reluctant to move Santana out of the cleanup spot, in part because he said Santana is comfortable hitting there. Kapler reiterated that point Sunday, when he told reporters in San Diego that, "We certainly don't think he's out of place in the four-hole in our lineup."
But the numbers suggest otherwise, and the sample size is no longer small enough to dismiss. Now, moving Santana out of the cleanup spot will not magically cure the Phils' offensive woes. But there could be a game in the final few weeks of the season when Ramos or somebody else hitting cleanup steps to the plate in a high-leverage situation and comes through with a big hit, much like having an extra bench player on the 25-man roster this week could help them win a game.
The Phillies optioned Zach Eflin to Triple-A over the weekend (he will not miss a start because he will be the team's 26th man in a doubleheader Thursday against the Mets) because they considered it a way to find value at the margins.
Dropping Santana from fourth to fifth (or even lower) in the Phils' lineup could be another example of finding value at the margins, too.
How concerned should we be about Seranthony Dominguez's ineffectiveness pitching on no rest?
-- Ed E., Philadelphia
It isn't exactly a four-alarm fire, but it is worth watching. Dominguez has a 9.92 ERA in nine appearances on no rest, allowing nine hits and eight walks and striking 11 in 7 1/3 innings. He has a 0.84 ERA in 28 appearances with at least one day of rest, allowing 14 hits and five walks and striking out 43 in 34 innings.
The Phillies play the Braves seven times in their final 11 games. If Philadelphia and Atlanta remain neck and neck entering those final 11 games, there certainly could be multiple situations when the Phils would love to have Dominguez pitch back-to-back games. Perhaps they can find a way to keep him fresher or get his body more acclimated to the workload before then. If not, they will have no choice then to lean on other relievers in the 'pen. Fortunately for them, there are enough pitchers throwing well right now to help them manage it.