Edmundo Sosa homers in the Phillies’ 10-4 loss to the Cubs. Will he get more playing time at third base?

It was a pre-planned day off, Rob Thomson maintained, designed to prevent Edmundo Sosa from rusting after being out of the Phillies’ lineup for a week.

Surely, though, it was about Alec Bohm.

Off to a 9-for-58 start, removed from the cleanup spot, and dealing with turmoil in his personal life stemming from the lawsuit that he filed against his parents, Bohm probably could’ve used a day to clear his head.

So there was Sosa, filling in at third base and smashing a slider onto Ashburn Alley in the second inning Tuesday night in what appeared to be a win-win for the Phillies.

Except they lost.

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They lost, 10-4 to the Cubs, because Aaron Nola didn’t hold the early three-run lead and lefty revelation Tim Mayza sprung a leak in the sixth inning. But because all Phillies roads seem to lead back to one player, Bohm pinch-hit as the go-ahead run in the eighth and struck out with the bases loaded.

Oof.

Under the circumstances, did Thomson consider sticking with Brandon Marsh against Cubs lefty reliever Caleb Thielbar? Or going with someone other than Bohm?

“No, not really,” Thomson said. “Thielbar’s pretty tough on lefties, so I just went for the matchup. And Bohm, the last couple days, has been swinging the bat better.”

Make it four losses in seven games to set up the Phillies for a Wednesday night rubber match with the Cubs to avoid a third consecutive losing series.

Sosa will be in the lineup, according to Thomson. Aside from going deep against Cubs righty Colin Rea, the super-sub started a double play with a backhand stop in the eighth inning and was a human snooze alarm for the offense with a leadoff double and an aggressive tag-up on a fly ball to eventually score from third on a single.

Oh, and besides, lefty Shota Imanaga will start for the Cubs. And Sosa almost always plays against lefties.

Instead of keeping him at third base, though, Thomson will put Sosa at second and get Bohm back in the lineup before a day off Thursday.

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Back to that in a moment. First, a brief reckoning of the sixth-inning wreck. Mayza earned the trust of inheriting a 3-3 game by beginning the season with 8⅔ scoreless innings, including a stretch of 23 consecutive batters retired.

Nola threw only 87 pitches but labored through most of his five innings, including a 31-pitch third. So, it was Mayza’s turn in the sixth. And after a one-out walk and a hit batter, he threw wide of second base on a potential double-play comebacker.

It opened the door for Nico Hoerner to line a two-run single. Mayza walked Michael Busch and was lifted for Brad Keller, who gave up a two-run single to Alex Bregman for a 7-3 Cubs lead.

All the runs were charged to Mayza.

“If we turn a double play, it’s a different story,” Thomson said. “That’s the deal. And that’s what we’ve got to do. All those little fundamentals, we’ve got to be better at.”

After the Phillies got it to within 7-4 in the eighth, Kyle Schwarber singled to bring up Bryce Harper as the tying run. Harper worked a six-pitch at-bat against Thielbar before striking out on a low-and-away fastball.

But Adolis García walked to load the bases for … who else? Bohm took a curveball off the plate for a strike, swung through a fastball, fouled off a heater, then foul-tipped a slider into the catcher’s mitt for the third strike.

And another slow walk back to the dugout.

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The question, then, persists: How long can the Phillies keep going with Bohm before they seek at least an internal replacement?

It would be a more fascinating scenario if not for the lower back injury that has kept top prospect Aidan Miller from swinging a bat since mid-February. But Miller, who was ticketed to open the season in triple A, is far from being ready to play after missing most of spring training.

Sosa is always a tantalizing alternative. He plays with energy and vigor … when he plays, that is. And since trading for him at the deadline in 2022, the Phillies have seen that his flaws against right-handed pitching tend to get exposed when he plays too much.

Notably, then, the homer against the Cubs came against a righty.

“I just keep working every day on the things I have to do,” Sosa said through a team interpreter. “During the days I didn’t play, I kept working on anything that we needed. Always ready, always focused. We have a plan when we go out to work.”

Said Thomson: “He’s fine [against righties]. He works hard in the cage. He’s always prepared. … Performance is everything. If he keeps performing, we’ve got to find a way to get him in.”

It also wouldn’t be the first time that Sosa offered a short-term boost. When Trea Turner strained his hamstring in 2024, Sosa started 32 of 38 games at shortstop and batted .275 with four homers and an .841 OPS.

But Thomson also insists he won’t run from Bohm.

“When he does struggle, you don’t see the same frustration you saw in the past, so that’s good,“ Thomson said. ”He’s growing up. And my door is always open if he ever wants to talk about anything. And he hasn’t. He seems to be in a really good space right now.“

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