Flip table? Wear wacky T-shirt? How Rob Thomson stays calm amid Bryce Harper, Phillies skid

PHILADELPHIA − So there Bryce Harper was, batting with one out in the ninth inning, a runner on first base, the Phillies trailing by a run.

These situations are what Harper lives for, the chance to be a hero, to hit the walkoff two-run homer.

Instead, Harper sent a hard bouncer to second base. That was plenty of time for the Yankees to turn a 4-6-3 double play, sending the Phillies to a 6-5 loss Wednesday afternoon for a sweep of the three-game series.

As Harper said after the Phillies lost a few days ago: "Superstars gotta show up."

Harper, of course, is at the front of that line. He has just one hit in his last 30 at-bats. In addition to the game-ending double play, Harper struck out in the fourth inning with runners on second and third and no one out. While both runners ended up scoring anyway, the Phillies missed the potential of a much bigger inning.

And that has been the Phillies' problem. They dropped five of six games on the homestand. They're 4-11 since sweeping the Dodgers from July 9-11.

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So clearly, the best thing you can say about this homestand is that it's over.

"I'm excited for the day off (Thursday)," Harper said as the Phillies will begin a 10-game road trip Friday night in Seattle before playing the Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks. The Mariners and Dodgers are in first place in their divisions, the Diamondbacks are playoff contenders.

The loss Wednesday was just the latest indignity for both Harper and the Phillies as the Yankees' DJ LeMahieu drove in all six runs with a grand slam and two-run double. LeMahieu came into the game hitting .173 with 13 RBIs in 139 at-bats.

Sure, the Phillies still have the best record in the National League at 65-43, with a 6½-game lead in the NL East. But they are 20-22 since June 9. That represents a little more than one-fourth of a season.

And yet, there's Phillies manager Rob Thomson, staying calm, refusing to panic. Flip over a buffet table? Pull a stunt like Eagles coach Nick Sirianni and wear a "Beat NY" T-shirt? Pick his lineup out of a hat?

Not Thomson.

"There’s a time and a place to have a team meeting and get everything out in the open," Thomson said. "I don’t think I’m there yet. But I think in public, and on the bench, and during the games, I think it’s important to stay calm.

"I think it’s important to make sure that they know that you’ve got everything in order."

So forget for a glorified temper tantrum in the clubhouse.

"Just being around Joe Torre as long as I was, that was his approach," Thomson said about the former Yankees manager. "I think with group, it’s such an experienced club, that I don’t think gimmicks would do much for them. It’s more keep pushing them, and staying calm, and let them do their thing."

Besides, this isn't the first time the Phillies, or Harper, have gone through a prolonged slump under Thomson.

In 2022, the Phillies started 22-29, fired manager Joe Girardi and replaced him with Thomson. Immediately, Thomson got the Phillies winning. Still, they endured a 3-9 skid in September as they were fighting for a playoff berth.

They ended up going to the World Series.

In 2023, the Phillies started 25-32. Harper was out until early May after having elbow surgery. When he returned, he had just three homers through his first 58 games. Harper had 18 homers over his final 68 games, and the Phillies were back in the NLCS.

Harper, who does have 24 homers this year, knows it will turn around for him and the team eventually.

"We're a damn good team," Harper said. "I mean, it's it's not that hard. I mean, it's baseball. It's the way kind of the game works. ... I can say that we haven't really been playing good baseball on both sides of the ball. (Not getting) guys on base, things like that. Pretty sloppy as well. So I mean, I think we all know that as a team ... we just kind of got to cowboy up and play the right way."

This is the belief that Thomson has in his players as well. But Thomson also knows that no one is harder on Harper than Harper is on himself.

"It’s certainly frustrating for him because he does want to perform and help the team win because that’s what he’s all about," Thomson said. "He’s just gotta keep battling through it. You know he’s going to come out of it at some point. He’s such a great hitter. He’s gonna start hitting home runs again, and he’s going to start feeling good about himself again."

Until then, the Phillies keep coming up a little short. On Tuesday, they fell 7-6 in 12 innings. On Wednesday, LeMahieu's grand slam put the Phillies in a 4-0 hole. They got to 4-3 before LeMahieu's double made it 6-3.

The Phillies trailed 6-4 in the seventh with two runners on, when Austin Hays' drive was caught at the wall. They were down by a run in the ninth with Kyle Schwarber on first when Hays hit another drive that was caught at the wall. Harper followed with his game-ending double play.

"The last two days, I felt like we put ourselves in a good position," Hays said. "We put some really good swings on balls. We're just missing out on that ball to fall, or that one big hit. But we were right there ... I see it in everybody's eyes."

When the Phillies do turn it around, it will mean that Harper, the Phillies' "superstar," will have shown up.

Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on X @Mfranknfl.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Flip table? Wear wacky T-shirt? How Rob Thomson stays calm amid Bryce Harper, Phillies skid