Phillies fall again to the Astros; clinching on hold

HOUSTON - Charlie Manuel sat in his office, took off his hat, and unbuckled his gray pants. No, the Phillies manager did not have to address his team after another loss to the worst team in baseball, this one a 5-2 defeat Tuesday at the hands of the Astros that again delayed the clinching of a playoff spot. But he did.

A team holding an 11-game lead in the division with 17 games to play has few problems. And still, Manuel needed its attention.

"It was no big talk or nothing like that," Manuel said. "It was to remind them we want to play better."

Even the finest teams will lose focus - the last two Phillies seasons provide examples - and Manuel typically knows when it is best to reinforce the ultimate goal. October, as guaranteed as it may be, is not yet here.

"We're sitting in a hell of a position," said Manuel, whose team also lost the opportunity to clinch because the Cardinals won Tuesday. "When we come out and we play sloppy or don't have a lot of life... we just have to play better than that. Even if we weren't where we're at, I'd feel the same way."

No, the team that has cruised through the National League and remains on pace for 105 wins, isn't perfect. The Phils have lost three in a row for the first time since a four-game skid May 31-June 4. The last two defeats were dealt by the worst team in baseball - except for when it plays the Phillies.

Monday was frustrating. Tuesday was just as bad. The Phillies committed more mental mistakes in the field, were handcuffed by another former teammate, and went quietly into the Texas night once they trailed.

"We're human," said Cole Hamels, who allowed five runs in the loss.

"It's not characteristic of this ballclub," said John Mayberry Jr., who struck out twice and committed an error in center field.

If anything, it provides a forum for Manuel to light a fire under his players in a season when managing is as easy as handing the ball to the next ace pitcher. After six wins in seven games against top competition in Atlanta and Milwaukee, the Phillies once again ran into a nemesis in the Astros.

Does the moribund opponent have an effect on the Phillies' focus?

"It shouldn't," Manuel said. "If it does, that's not the way you go about things. You come to play every night and you come to play the right way."

This series is truly bizarre baseball. A team that entered 461/2 games behind the Phillies in the standings has outplayed them in two days. Jason Michaels, the former Phillie, made a diving grab that was so good, it ended his season. He robbed Ryan Howard of a hit in the second inning and suffered a broken bone in his left hand.

The Phillies, so proficient defensively all season, languished in the field for a second straight night. Mayberry's gaffe was a two-base error in the third when a grounder bounced through his legs in center field. Howard bobbled a bouncer in the fourth and Hamels was late to cover first base.

Those are the mistakes that will tick Manuel the most. J.A. Happ, who dragged a league-worst 5.77 ERA into Tuesday, scattered four hits and four walks in six innings. His lone mistake was change-up that produced a mammoth home run for Hunter Pence.

The Phillies went 87 games without a three-game losing streak. The worst team in baseball has nothing to play for, but the Astros have been the better team in two days. The manager almost avoided a season without a motivational speech.

"That'd have been nice," he said.

Outwardly, that will peeve Manuel. Secretly, the manager probably doesn't mind having to give a wake-up call to his talented team.