Where has the Phillies’ mighty offense gone? A few theories. | Extra Innings

Rhys Hoskins must have known it’s much too early in the season to suggest seriously that a couple of intentionally high-and-tight fastballs late in a blowout loss might spark the struggling Phillies. But after exacting his revenge against Mets reliever Jacob Rhame with a ninth-inning homer Wednesday night, Hoskins was content to propagate that narrative.

Thursday night proved just how absurd it was.

The Phillies came home to Citizens Bank Park, opened a four-game series against the lowly Marlins, and remained ice cold in a 10-inning, 3-1 loss. They mustered only four hits and went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position en route to their sixth loss in eight games.

Hoskins claimed that Rhame’s actions served to “poke the sleeping bear.” Clearly, though, the Phillies’ offense is still in a deep hibernation.

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— Scott Lauber (extrainnings@philly.com)

For the season’s first two weeks, the Phillies offense was a runaway train.

Since then, it has sputtered like a broken-down jalopy.

So, which is it? Are the Phillies really the modern-day Murderers’ Row that averaged 6.2 runs and 9.1 hits and blasted 24 homers en route to a 10-6 record? Or are they the gang that has averaged 2.8 runs and 7.8 hits and hit eight homers in the last nine games en route to a 3-6 mark?

The answer, most likely, resides somewhere in between. Exactly where, though, could mean the difference between winning the NL East and missing the playoffs. The Phillies are built on offense, and if they aren’t going to slug their way to October, they probably won’t get there.

“There’s no question our lineup hasn’t been clicking like it can,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “We’ve been pretty beat up by injuries, but that’s no excuse. We can perform better at the plate."

Indeed, after keeping the batting order virtually unchanged for the season’s first few weeks, Kapler has had to juggle the lineup because of hamstring injuries to shortstop Jean Segura, center fielder Odubel Herrera and utility infielder Scott Kingery. Third baseman Maikel Franco, who had so much success in the No. 8 spot, was moved to the middle of the order, where he has only two extra-base hits and one RBI in five games.

Segura, in particular, has been virtually irreplaceable in the No. 2 spot in the order. He’s one of the best contact hitters in baseball, and the Phillies’ downturn coincided with the first game that he missed. He’s on track to return Saturday night against the Marlins.

Herrera might not be too far behind, and his presence in the No. 6 spot will bring relief from the center-field combination of Aaron Altherr (1-for-26 this season) and Roman Quinn, who was 3-for-25 with 14 strikeouts before straining his groin and returning to the injured list Thursday.

But it’s more than that. At a time when the shorthanded Phillies need their most dangerous offensive threat to lift them, Bryce Harper has struggled.

Harper is batting .196 with one homer in the last 13 games. Since his five-hit game Saturday night in Colorado, he’s 2-for-20 with nine strikeouts. In the sixth inning last night, he popped out with a runner on third base and one out. He leads the National League with 34 strikeouts in only 91 at-bats.

“I can’t tell you I feel terrible or anything like that," Harper said. “Just missing pitches, swinging at stuff out of the zone sometimes. I’ve got to take my walks, take my walks, and get on base for the guys behind me. If I do that, we’ll be OK.”

Harper shouldered the blame for last night’s loss, and as Bob Brookover writes, he deserved plenty of it.

Hector Neris gave up the decisive two-run homer to Starlin Castro in the 10th inning, but Kapler conceded that he shouldn’t have put the reliever in that position.

“Put it on my list,” luckless Roman Quinn said of his latest injury. Also within Matt Breen’s notebook, there’s news of Rhame receiving a two-game suspension for throwing at Hoskins on Tuesday night.

Check out Steve Falk’s photo gallery from last night. The Phillies wore their sweet powder blue throwback jerseys. Personally, I think they should bring them back more often.

Tonight: Jerad Eickhoff vs. Marlins right-hander Jose Urena, 7:05 p.m.

Tomorrow: Jake Arrieta faces the Marlins, 6:05 p.m.

Sunday: Phanatic’s birthday party before Phillies-Marlins finale, 1:05 p.m.

Monday: Off day for Phillies.

Tuesday: Phillies open two-game interleague series vs. Tigers, 7:05 p.m.

J.T. Realmuto struck out in the first inning last night. But it was hardly a normal strikeout.

Realmuto fouled off 10 consecutive full-count pitches from Marlins left-hander Caleb Smith in what turned out to be a 16-pitch at-bat, the longest by a Phillies player since Mickey Morandini’s 16-pitch at-bat against St. Louis’ Joe Magrane on Sept. 26, 1992.

It also wasn’t the first duel between the former Marlins teammates. Two weeks ago in Miami, Smith struck out Realmuto to end an 11-pitch at-bat.

Send questions by email or on Twitter @ScottLauber.

Answer: Ah yes, nothing brings out the questions quite like a rough two-week stretch. But seriously, thanks for reaching out, John. And take heart. My timeline is filled with similarly frustrated fans. You’re in good company. I’ll take your points one by one:

First, it’s difficult to improve a team this early in the season, at least from the outside. The trade market doesn’t typically heat up until June or even early July, so unless your farm system is teeming with major league-ready players, you’re somewhat limited in what you can do other than to be patient with the guys you’ve got. This year, of course, free-agent lefty Dallas Keuchel and closer Craig Kimbrel remain available. But signing either of them would limit the Phillies’ flexibility at the trade deadline, hardly an ideal scenario.

Altherr is out of options and can’t be sent to triple A without being exposed to waivers. If Herrera and Quinn were healthy, the Phillies almost certainly would have designated Altherr for assignment by now. Alas, both center fielders are on the injured list, so Altherr, despite being 1-for-26 this season, is still here.

Williams hasn’t done anything aside from being a corner outfielder on a team that has Andrew McCutchen and Harper in left and right field, respectively. But given the depth of Altherr’s struggles, it’s highly likely that McCutchen moves to center and Williams makes a few rare starts in left, at least until next week when Herrera is expected to return.