At least outside of New York, he does.

“It’s kind of invigorating,” Utley, somehow now 45, said of his return to Citizens Bank Park, a stadium in which some baseball romanticists say he helped build. “Can you believe that? … It’s great. Good to be back in the city, good to feel the energy that I remember so well, and it’s great that the guys are playing fantastic baseball. So I’m happy to be back.”

Since Alumni Weekend isn’t for another three months or so, you might wonder why Utley was doing here, and not-so coincidentally on a night that featured the Mets, long a chief Phillies rival, and even more so an organized collection of Utley haters not so long ago.

On this rare trip to a place he once called home, Utley, Major League Baseball’s Ambassador to Europe — apparently a real title — came along with two “stars” of the BBC’s version of “Gladiator” — Remember “American Gladiator” years ago? Yeah, me neither — to promote a huge London media gala the weekend of June 8 and 9 in Trafalgar Square.

Yes, Utley and “Apollo” the Gladiator vs. ex-Met Daniel Murphy and his Gladiator cohort, “Fire.”

They’ll be swinging bats instead of swinging swords at each other in a home run contest held to celebrate that weekend’s Phillies-Mets two-game series at London Stadium in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

“Obviously, it’s a different stadium, unfamiliar surroundings,” Utley said. “But overall, it’s going to be a great weekend in a few weeks.”

So he was here to more or less invite Phillies fans along. Surprisingly he didn’t say the New Yorkers should stay home.

Not only was he known as a power-hitting Mets killer while playing for the Phillies, Utley the Irritant got way deeper into New York fans’ collective craws while playing as an old guy with the Dodgers. Remember that Utley slide in the 2015 NLDS to break up a double play, and simultaneously (and accidentally) breaking the leg of then-Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada?

Well, even though Utley is helping promote an MLB event with the Mets as co-star, that moment isn’t likely to be forgotten so soon across your average Queens neighborhood.

Asked if he was planning to also oversee a promotion at Citi Field in New York for the upcoming London Experience, Utley nearly laughed while saying, “I’m doing no promotional work at Citi Field. … No I never got a phone call.

“But no, I’m here to promote a little bit,” he added. “I am competing with my partner Apollo who’s a U.K. Gladiator, in a home run derby against (ex-Met) Danny Murphy and his Gladiator, Fire. So for those of you who are in town and really want to catch a laugh, you’ve got to come out to Trafalgar Square. It’s going to be a good event.”

Bloody well right.

This is what Utley does now. The guy who used to spend much more time with his head buried in a laptop in the clubhouse than mixing with the media in there has for the past two years been helping MLB hype its product overseas, mostly in London Town.

Nice work if you can find it.

“It’s kind of a free-for-all,” he said. “I’m allowed to do whatever I want now.”

That’s kind of how he played the game, too, though what Utley always seemed to want was to keep getting better, keep getting under opposing players’ skins … and paramount to everything else, to win.

Even if it occasionally came at the expense of health, for him and the opposition, well so be it.

“Hey, I love everybody,” Utley said. “We had some battles over the years when I was playing and it’s still going today. For those of you that are traveling to London to see them compete, it’s going to be an exciting two-game series.”

Utley admits it’s been a while since he was swinging for the fences, professionally or otherwise. He last played for the Dodgers in 2018, and this celebration of his swing really is only for show.

“My wife asked me the other day, ‘Are you going to actually practice for this?’ I said ‘yeah, I probably should,’ ” Utley said. “It should be fine. Put the batting gloves on again, put a bat in my hand and I’ll try not to embarrass myself too much.”

Chase Utley, professional entertainer.

Of course, if you remember his f-bomb of a celebratory address at CBP just after the 2008 World Series parade, maybe he always had a bit of that in him.

So, one more time …

“It’s going to be a fantastic experience. Both games are going to be sold out,” Utley said. “It’s going to be a little bit different than a regular baseball game. It’ll be like a playoff atmosphere, all different types of food, fireworks and you name it. But whether you know anything about baseball or not, it’s going to be a great day, especially for the fans.

“I would just say it’s going to be great games. It’s going to be intense, going to be a fun atmosphere. Just remember these teams don’t necessarily love each other.”

Nope, don’t forget that. They never did in New York.

Contact Rob Parent at rparent@delcotimes.com

Nola (4-2, 3.67 ERA) was outdueled by Toronto’s Chris Bassitt in a 5-3 Phillies loss to the Blue Jays at Citizens Bank Park.

As has been the case frequently through Nola’s career, what was looking like a quality start fell apart somewhat in the sixth inning. Toronto’s Vlad Guerrero Jr. began it with a swinging bunt single up the third base line. Hits by Justin Turner, catcher Danny Jansen and Bo Bichette followed in quick order as the Blue Jays built a 4-1 lead.

“A couple of mistakes … and I missed a couple of spots,” Nola confessed.

But what he’s more concerned about is the way he hasn’t been able to get his fastball to a low enough point.

“I felt alright today,” he said. “It felt like I threw a couple of them down, but I’m just battling out there. Obviously trying to get the ball down, that’s kind of what got me to this point. … It’s just not as consistent right now, but I’ll definitely try to get back to that.”

Nola, removed after 5 2/3 innings after allowing four earned runs on nine hits, but with seven strikeouts against no walks, claimed his issue is primarily with one pitch.

“I feel like my fastballs that do get hit are thigh-line, which is a good spot for hitters to hit,” he said. “I’ll keep working at it and obviously keep trying to move the ball around the plate.”

As for Bassitt, who was off to a rickety start to the season, he went 6.1 innings, allowing only two earned runs and three hits. The Phillies would get a ninth inning run off reliever Jordan Romano, and had the game-tying run on second base when Romano retired Whit Merrifield for the final out.

Success against the Phils is nothing new for Bassitt, who has pitched to a 1.89 ERA in five career starts against them.

“Just keeping us off balance,” manager Rob Thomson said of Bassitt. “Cutter, fastball and the slow curveball. He pitched well. You’ve got to give him credit. He kept us off-balance. But I have to give our guys credit. We came back, had the tying run on second base in the ninth. We kept fighting.”

• • •

NOTES >> The Phillies’ 11-game win streak at Citizens Bank Park, which dated to a loss to the Pirates on April 14, came to an end. … While grounding out to complete an oh-for-4 at the plate, Bryce Harper flung a bat toward the fence in front of the Phillies dugout in frustration. “He’s a perfectionist,” Thomson said. “He wants to do well for the team, the city, the organization … he gets frustrated.”

Dare to shrug away the fact that in 10 of the previous 11 Phillies games, and even 18 of the last 21 … they won. Feel free to enjoy, just don’t judge. Not now, not yet.

No matter how brightly the sun is shining on the South Philadelphia baseball landscape, it’s still May, and it is indeed a marathon rather than a sprint in this sport. That adage was again proven true Wednesday with an unexpected, 5-3 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays. Yes, unexpected.

“I don’t think you’re going to look around the room here and see any happy faces,” Kyle Schwarber said after a ninth-inning Phillies comeback attempt yielded a run but ended with two runners in scoring position. “Everyone’s disappointed after a loss. It doesn’t matter if we’re 10 games above .500 or 10 games below .500, a loss is a loss. Our expectation every time we walk out of the clubhouse is to try to win the game. We’re expecting to win the game and that’s the mindset you have to have, especially in this game, when you play so many of them.”

The last two years, the Phillies appreciated the length of the season, which gave them ample opportunity to recover from relatively slow starts. This spring, despite back-to-back losses at home to top rival Atlanta to open the season, it’s been quite the opposite story.

And almost hidden behind the superb pitching, timely hitting, obvious power, improved fielding and certainly favorable early opponents, there is one factor that separates this Phillies team from even their last two.

First, though, the schedule.

It has undeniably helped, with early series against wobbly Washington and awful Colorado and those loveable, laughable Chicago White Sox interspersed with meetings against so-so Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. Home sweeps of the Rockies and White Sox begat a seven-game win streak. An almost unhittable Zack Wheeler, who somehow lost his first three decisions, and even better Ranger Suarez kept it going, with a wholly admirable road trip that included a sweep of the Padres and two out of three against the Angels, before a return home and another series sweep, this time over the Giants.

They were going for another series sweep Wednesday against the Blue Jays, and despite a superb outing by their starter Chris Bassitt, the Phillies rallied late to get to within, in Schwarber’s words, “one swing away.”

Even if you fear American League East opponents of the near future like the bully boys of Baltimore or the resurrected Yankees, know that at 26-12 the Phillies still have the best record in the major leagues. Yes, better than even those bad dudes from the Left Coast, the Dodgers.

But again, it is May. Glittering standings numbers are nice, if lacking in impact with the season less than 40 games old.

The Phillies are not without their shortcomings, what with Nick Castellanos again doing his special act of plate inconsistency, though better of late. And hey, wasn’t that a red-hot Trea Turner who messed up a hamstring last week, then sort of stunningly announced he’s going to miss at least the next six weeks?

Yet the challenging “problem” lately has been what to do about a Phillies team with six effective starting pitchers, and a bullpen that can’t get enough work.

Spencer Turnbull was signed to be a reliever, but he’s always been a starter, and in starting the season in place of injured Taijuan Walker, he showed to be one of the Phillies’ best starters … no small accomplishment here. But now that Walker’s healthy …

“Good problem to have,” manager Rob Thomson said with a curled lip.

Beyond that, Bryce Harper is smacking the ball to all parts of the field, and hitting it out of the field for home runs in three consecutive games before this one. His latest was a grand slam Tuesday night that was part of a 10-1 win for fifth (sixth?) starter Cristopher Sanchez, who showed his appreciation.

“It’s amazing being side by side with a superstar like Bryce,” Sanchez said. “It’s an amazing feeling. We just have too many good guys, like, the bench, everybody’s good. We have two lineups.”

And with that, Sanchez hit upon that new X-factor.

A reason, one that Harper himself promoted Tuesday, that tears down the argument of it being too early to get too excited about this Phillies team.

A key component, one less obvious than most, in the argument that this club could and should see itself as being in prime position to compete with the likes of the Dodgers, Braves, Yankees, Orioles, etc. for a championship come the fall. It’s why a premier player like Turner can go out with a significant injury, and the wins keep coming anyway.

It’s also what Harper has been waiting for.

“If you look at a lot of really good teams in the league, they have depth,” Harper said Tuesday. “If that’s starting pitching depth, or infield or hitting or anything, I think a lot of really good teams have that. I think (team president Dave) Dombrowski has done a great job of rounding out our roster, making sure we have those pieces and that depth in the minor leagues that can come up at any point and help us win.

“I said a couple of years ago that we have to rely on our young guys and minor league guys to be able to develop and come up and be able to help at any point, and I think they’re doing a good job of that now.”

It is indeed, that time. The Phillies went to a World Series in 2022 and stretched a National League Championship Series to seven games in 2023. They are better in 2024. There are many reasons. The most important one is how deeply enriched they’ve become.

Contact Rob Parent at rparent@delcotimes.com

Merrifield, 35, might finally be in position to get that with Trea Turner on the shelf. He hadn’t had the kind of chance to do so that he did Tuesday night, batting second in a game against the Toronto Blue Jays.

As is the case with so many spots in the batting order and so many positions in the field during his career, Merrifield has been there, done that before. Even in the two-hole.

“I led off most of my career, but I hit second for a lot of time in Kansas City,” said Merrifield, who played for the Royals and Blue Jays before signing with the Phils. “I probably got, I don’t know, probably a year’s worth of hitting second in me (in K.C.).”

In fact, the man listed on the Phillies roster as “utility” rather than any outfield or infield position thinks his offensive game isn’t as varied as his fielding game. He thinks he’s built to hit second.

“I actually think my game profiles best in the two-hole,” Merrifield said. “I’m comfortable doing it. I don’t walk a lot. I’m a contact guy. I hit behind runners a lot. So when Kyle (Schwarber) hits a single — because he doesn’t hit homers much anymore — when he just hits a single, that right side of the field is open for me.”

Naturally, Schwarber was listening in close by when this bit of info came to light in a clubhouse interview.

“That’s what he does now,” Merrifield went on. “His name’s Kyle Schwingles. … But yeah I hit behind runners. Love to hit and run. Just an old school, two-hole prototype. That’s more my game.”

Schwingle is what Merrifield did in the third inning Tuesday night, hitting behind Schwarber against some former Blue Jays buddies.

He got another big opportunity in the fourth inning, coming up with the bases loaded and one out. He fouled off several pitches before going down on strikes on a Jose Berrios changeup. Little matter … it only set the stage for a Bryce Harper grand slam a few pitches later.

Sometimes it’s good to be a second hitter in the Phillies’ lineup.

But Merrifield was only there because J.T. Realmuto — who was moved up from the cleanup spot to the two-hole when usual second hitter Turner went down with his hamstring injury — had this night off.

Defensively, Merrifield found himself in left field, as Edmundo Sosa took over at shortstop. But when Turner got hurt, Merrifield had texted manager Rob Thomson to offer himself as a candidate for the position, even if he hadn’t played it in KC or Toronto. He was mostly a second baseman or outfielder there.

“I grew up at shortstop,” Merrifield said. “I know I haven’t done it in the big leagues, but just because I haven’t done it doesn’t mean I can’t do it. I just haven’t done it. I told (Thomson) I’d work over there if he needed me to and I didn’t think it would take too long to work the rust off, if that was a need.

“One of my values is being versatile and doing different things. And shortstop is one of those things that hasn’t been on my resume as a big leaguer, but it can be.”

Either way, no matter the position in the order or on the field, Merrifield is simply welcoming the work.

“I didn’t expect someone to get hurt, but I did expect at bats to open up for me,” he said. “I’ve been a good player in this league for a while, and I felt like at some point that would show. I still feel like I’ve got a lot left in my tank and I felt like that would come out.

“It’s been better the last couple of games but I still think I’ve got a lot more, and I’m looking forward to showing you guys what I can do and help this team win. We’ve got a good thing going right now and I’m just trying my best to ride the wave.”

• • •

NOTES >> Thomson on Alec Bohm before the game: “He’s fine. Just a day off. He had that long streak. He’s grinding it out pretty good.” Bohm was in the dugout during the game. His career-high 18-game hitting streak ended Monday. … With both Bohm and Realmuto out of the lineup for a night, recently warming Nick Castellanos tried his hand in the cleanup spot in the order. He opened his game with a double to knock home Harper from first base in the first inning. “(Monday) I thought his at bats were really good,” Thomson said of Castellanos. “He hit a ball hard the day before that, and he didn’t chase a ball at all yesterday, so that was good.”

The night before, amid a game played in a relatively steady rain, Bohm was victimized by a second-inning swing in which his left foot seemed to slide a bit on the mud, and his right knee buckled to the ground.

Bohm didn’t answer the bell for a third-inning at bat — which materialized because the Phillies scored nine runs over the first two innings — a subsequent announcement saying he wouldn’t return due to right hip “tightness.”

Bohm later offered reassurance, saying he expected to play in the series’ third game Sunday night, and adding, “I’ve played through much worse. It’s nothing really that I’m concerned about.”

There haven’t been many worrisome moments over what thus far as been Bohm’s best season. The one-time troubled third baseman has blossomed into a fielder to be counted upon and a rock in the middle of the lineup.

While providing “protection” in hitting behind No. 3 bopper Bryce Harper, Bohm finished Saturday leading all of the MLB with a .364 batting average, and was tied for the National League RBI lead with Atlanta’s Marcell Ozuna with 32. Bohm complemented that with a 1.014 OPS.

“I don’t know if I’d ever say that I thought he was going to lead the league in RBIs and batting average, but I know that he’s a good hitter,” manager Rob Thomson said of Bohm. “And he’s in a spot, hitting fourth in our lineup, where you’re going to have people on base to be able to drive in. He does all the things that RBI men do. He swings at good pitches, he uses the field and he makes contact. That’s where you pile up the RBIs.”

As for the protection part, that was Bohm on the on-deck circle Sunday night, with Harper striding to the plate in the third inning with a couple of teammates on. If there might have been any thoughts of Giants pitcher Logan Webb pitching around Harper, Bohm’s presence would negate them.

Harper promptly launched a three-run home run to center to boost the Phillies to a 4-1 lead.

In the field, Bohm showed no ill effects from his hip concern of the night before, appreciating a stutter-step by two-time Gold Glove Giants shortstop Nick Ahmed, whose slip caused him to throw Bohm’s routine ground ball into the Phillies’ dugout in the second inning. The Phils’ cleanup hitter made good on that, too, scoring a first and game-tying run on Edmundo Sosa’s subsequent infield hit.

Bohm would double to left field in the seventh inning, extending his careerlong hitting streak to 18 games.

“We’re a deep team,” Bohm said. “We’re confident in pretty much everybody that walks up to that box. To be able to keep it rolling and put up a day like (Saturday’s 14-3 win) against a pretty good pitching staff … and to be able to string hits together and not really hit a bunch of home runs and score runs that way, just take our walks and get our singles and keep the line moving, it’s just another way we can get it done.”

That Bohm run was indicative of the way the Phillies have been manufacturing runs of late rather than just producing them with power. In scoring 14 runs Saturday night, the Phillies only had one home run, that coming in the seventh inning off the bat of Whit Merrifield.

Plate patience has been a key for the Phillies over the run of eight wins in nine games through Saturday’s blowout win.

“I thought we did a good job in the first inning, because we scored five without an extra base hit,” Thomson said Sunday. “We had really good at bats, and 10 walks, 12 hits.

“We’re getting good pitching and timely hitting. But on any given night, like that last game (against the Angels) in Los Angeles, we had 18 strikeouts. But we found a way to win. We’re getting different people contributing every night, which is good. We just have to keep going, stay humble and keep grinding it out every game.”

• • •

Bryson Stott’s slow start at the plate might be a thing of the past now.

Stott had an ohfer in four trips on April 27 in San Diego, dropping his batting average to .210. The next day in that series finale, Stott had three hits, including a pair of homers. Then he kept on hitting, raising his batting average to .240 through Saturday.

“He’s hit the ball hard a lot and really didn’t have anything to show for it,” Thomson said early Sunday. “He’s put together some really good at bats in the last week.”

Stott kept it up, stroking a two-out double to left center to knock in a run in the third inning Sunday night.

• • •

NOTES >> Stott figures to see time at shortstop with Trea Turner out until mid-late June, but with a rainy Saturday and showery Sunday he hasn’t had time to do some serious fielding practice there. Thomson said of Stott, “I have to get his comfort level,” at short before playing him there. Meanwhile, there’s been nothing wrong with having Sosa in that spot the past two games. … Officially, impressive starter Spencer Turnbull was available out of the bullpen Sunday night while the man replacing him in the rotation, Taijuan Walker, was doing credible work on the mound. But Turnbull wasn’t really an option, as Thomson is likely saving him for Tuesday (vs. Toronto, 6:40 p.m.) and a “piggyback” outing with Cristopher Sanchez. Turnbull would likely come in and try to go long after Sanchez starts and works maybe five innings or so. … Meanwhile, Thomson will go with top starter Zack Wheeler on Monday in the series finale against the Giants, a 4:05 start.

With the return of Taijuan Walker, the Phillies added a starting arm to what already appears to be the league’s best pitching staff over the season’s first five weeks.

The Phillies’ starting rotation went into a game against the San Francisco Giants on Saturday night leading all of MLB with 194.2 innings pitched, and leading the National League with a collective 2.54 ERA, which was second overall.

This was primarily due to the recent work of staff ace Zack Wheeler and NL Pitcher of the Month Ranger Suarez, who took the mound Saturday night with a 5-0 mark with a 1.32 ERA and 0.63 WHIP.

He’s hardly been alone in his revelatory efforts, as both Wheeler and Aaron Nola have essentially started strong, and fourth starter Spencer Turnbull, acquired in the offseason primarily to fill a long relief role, has been superb in Walker’s first-month stead.

Over six starts, Turnbull has a 2-0 mark with a 1.67 ERA in 32.1 innings pitched. A little better hitting support luck and Thomson would have a tough time selling the idea that maybe Walker’s return means Turnbull returns to the role for which he came.

Then again, the decision to do so now seems difficult enough.

With an early season schedule offering a fair share of off days, Walker’s return has necessitated some shuffling of the starters. Thomson recently mentioned the possibility of a six-man rotation at some point, though that time is hardly at hand.

Instead, the manager has been saying for a while that he’ll soon come up with a plan, and when that was expected to be unveiled Saturday … well there were a few questions of clarification volleyed back.

“(Cristopher) Sanchez is available out of the ‘pen today, because he’s on full rest,” Thomson said of his fifth starter and Saturday bullpen piece. “If he doesn’t pitch today, he’ll start Tuesday, and then Turnbull will go to the bullpen tomorrow on full rest, so he can be our long guy (there) for the time being. If (Turnbull) doesn’t pitch (Sunday), it sets up a potential piggyback on Tuesday.”

A “piggyback” would thus be both Sanchez and Turnbull splitting duties on Tuesday. So … got that?

Turnbull alleges that he does, and has mostly said all the right things about it. After a victory over the Chicago White Sox on April 19, in which he flirted with a no-hitter, Turnbull said he’d like to “make it as hard as possible” for Thomson to make the decision to put him back in the bullpen.

“I want to start,” Turnbull said then, but he quickly added, “… all those decisions aren’t really up to me. I’m just here to help the team win, whatever role that is.”

From the sound of things, Turnbull has been passing that same message on to his manager.

“He can give you length, obviously,” Thomson said of Turnbull. “He gives us another guy that can get on right-handed hitters. We’ve struggled a little bit with that. I have the confidence in him to put him into (late-inning) leverage (situations), so for the time being I think it’s the right way to go.

“He wants to start, but he said at the end of the day he’ll do anything to help the team win.”

So far, for Turnbull and to a much lesser degree Sanchez (1-3, 3.68 over six starts), the talk has been more about the roll they’ve been on as opposed to the roles they’re playing for this team. To Thomson, Walker’s presence can only enhance that.

Thompson on Saturday discounted the possibility that Walker — who did take the mound for the first time last Sunday, giving up six earned runs over 6.1 innings, but nonetheless ending his day with a W — should be anything but a starter. … At least for now, that is.

Instead, the manager’s master plan is to look at other alternatives for Turnbull and fifth starter Sanchez.

Turnbull appeared in only 61 games (60 starts) over five seasons (pandemic included) with the Detroit Tigers before signing with the Phils. For Detroit over that time he went 12-29 with a 4.55 ERA.

Maybe at 31, Turnbull has found something better … and now might not be the time to mess with that.

“Yeah there is concern,” Thomson conceded. “He’s pitched so well. But Sanchy has pitched pretty well, too. Yeah, there’s always concern when you’re doing something like that. That’s why it’s a tough decision.”

Tough indeed.

For Turnbull and this rotation, it’s been so good so far … but what may happen by tinkering with two of the starters to make room for innings eater and runs allower Walker?

“He got 15 wins last year,” Thomson countered about Walker, who wasn’t selected to pitch for even 15 seconds in the postseason last fall. But it’s clear the status of this decision is still very fluid.

“Great problem to have, tough problem to solve,” Thomson said. “And a tough decision to make.”

Contact Rob Parent at rparent@delcotimes.com

“Ah, I would say … a little bit of both,” Turner said.

So while it was better news than what he envisioned when he first suffered the injury on a slide into home on a passed ball against the Giants on Friday night, it might prove to be a little worse, too. At least it sounded that way when Turner was told what an MRI Saturday morning indicated.

“I think they’re saying six weeks or so … anything before that, I think, would be a win,” Turner said. “That’s what they’re telling me right now. But I know that injuries in general, I think it’s always tricky to put a timeline on that. But that’s what they’re telling me.”

Turner had injured a hamstring early in the 2017 season, but only missed about two weeks of action for the Nationals. He has suffered more significant injuries by breaking bones on pitches; a right wrist in 2017 that cost him two months, and a fractured index finger while trying to bunt against the Phillies at the start of the 2019 season, costing him about six weeks.

“I’ve only been on the IL with that hamstring one time and broken bones. And broken bones you just sit and wait and you can’t do anything,” Turner said. “That’s one reason I’m more optimistic with this. As you gain strength and get healthier you can kind of ramp up, so it kind of depends on me. It’s not just sitting around waiting for a bone to heal.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to be healthy in my career, minus those two hit-by-pitches, so hopefully I can put this one behind me and get back.”

Turner, 30, will hope a quick return to what he achieved over the first 33 games. He was slashing .343/.392/.460 with a couple of home runs and nine RBIs. It’s been a far cry from his eternally long slow start in his first Phillies season.

All of that could make this wait for a ramped-up rehab seem all the longer.

“It’s Hour 2, so right now I’m OK,” Turner said. “But I’m sure after two or three days I’ll already be sick of it. It’s going to be tough watching. But I’ll try to help out in any way I can, talk to guys and hopefully still be there with them.”

The Phillies recalled Kody Clemens from Lehigh Valley to fill the roster void.

“It’s tough, that’s one of the best players in the game you’re losing,” manager Rob Thomson said. “But we’ve been through this before; people just pick it up. That’s why you’ve got a team.”

Utility infielder Edmundo Sosa took Turner’s spot at short and batted eighth in the lineup against the Giants Saturday night. But as Thomson indicated, filling in for Turner could take a bit of a village.

“For the most part, Sosa’s going to be playing at short,” Thomson said of Sosa, who entered Saturday’s game hitting .286. “But we have to be careful with him, too, because he hasn’t played every day. You run him out there 10 days in a row, you’re probably putting him in danger. So we’ll gauge that.

“When he doesn’t play, we’re probably comfortable with (Bryson) Stott playing short and Whit (Merrifield) playing second or Clemens playing second.”

Stott seems like a logical replacement, although it’s been a couple of seasons since he manned that position on even a semi-routine basis.

“Yeah, he’s been good over there in the past,” Turner said of his middle infield partner, a Gold Glove finalist last season. “He was second in Gold Glove, and obviously that transfers over at the other side. So completing plays and getting outs, I think he’s great at that. I have all the confidence in the world with him.”

For the fourth time this very young season, a Wheeler start went down the tubes, as he went one bad pitch too many in the sixth inning to open the floodgates to a 9-2 Pirates victory at Citizens Bank Park.

Wheeler escaped some trouble in the first inning, gave up a run that should have been unearned — due to an awry throw by catcher J.T. Realmuto on a two-out double steal that allowed a run to score — before having it fall apart four batters into the sixth inning. That’s when left-handed left fielder Jack Suwinski swatted a Wheeler half-curve into the stands for a grand slam and 6-2 Pirates lead.

The way the Phillies weren’t hitting, that indeed served as game over.

“It was down a little bit, but it was (over the) middle,” Wheeler said of his 100th pitch of the day. “It was a little bit of a hanger, and he put good wood on it. He back-spun it out of there. It was kind of weird seeing that off the bat.”

What’s weirder is that in his three starts prior to this game, Wheeler had pitched to a 1.89 ERA over three verified quality starts … producing two losses and a no-decision. Over his four games, the Phillies have lost all four, scoring a not-so-grand total of six runs.

“It is frustrating. We haven’t really swung the bats in his starts,” manager Rob Thomson said of Wheeler. “That’ll change. For the most part, he’s pitched really well. Even in that last inning today, (it was) error, walk, kind of a fly ball base hit, and then Suwinski. The pitch was over the plate but it was down, and it was still 96 (mph).”

But with Suwinski coming to the plate, righty Wheeler faced a bases-loaded, no-outs situation against a lefty. And Wheeler was already at 98 pitches. So…

“No, he’s our guy,” Thomson said, waving off the thought of pulling his ace at that point. “He’s our stud. I was going to let him try and get through as many hitters as he could. … His pitch count was fine. He was at (almost) 100, so he probably had a couple of hitters left.”

No, just one.

Meanwhile, it’s April, the sun is shining, the wind wasn’t blowing the trash around too harshly. So why dwell on the negative when you see too much of it every fifth day?

“Today was good, but it was frustrating at the same time,” Wheeler said. “The outcome wasn’t good, but I felt personally I made some good strides. Mechanically I made an adjustment between my last start and this start. The ball was definitely coming out better today.”

Wheeler indicated the adjustment allowed him to “be more free and easy. … Something as simple as staying more upright instead of leaning over on my front side, so the ball’s going to move a little different.

“I think I had a good approach, too,” Wheeler added. “Sometimes you have to give them a lot of credit. They weren’t biting on a lot of stuff down.”

Nor were the Phillies taking much of a bite out of Pirates starter Mitch Keller, who except for a Trea Turner solo homer and Trea Turner RBI single, gave up nothing harmful over seven innings for the win. But then, for the Phillies, lack of run support for their ace is a signature characteristic. Aaron Nola too often over too many seasons, and certainly, Zack Wheeler so far this one.

“You never want to waste a good start, especially when your ace is up there,” Turner said. “It’s positive and negative. It feels like we beat ourselves. We were right in there playing good but obviously we let that one get away. If you don’t play well enough anybody can beat you. But the positive way of looking at it is, I think we’re right there. We just have to do it the entire game.”

• • •

Kyle Schwarber put up an oh-for-4 Sunday, but that came after a Saturday game in which he hit his 20th career leadoff homer as a Phillie, then wound up reaching base five times, all against left-handed pitching. Kyle who?

“I guess you can say the results are there,” he said after Saturday’s 4-3 win. “There are balls getting through and things like that. But I think the biggest thing I want to find myself doing … just swing at balls in the zone and try to take the ones out of the zone. Being aggressive in the zone is something I want to focus on.”

• • •

Playing a starring role in his team’s latest less-than satisfying offensive show was Bryce Harper.

His 0-for-4 collar Sunday lowered his average to .190.

“He’s just frustrated, just trying to do too much, I think,” Thomson said of Harper. “He’s maybe overswinging a little bit and not getting his contact point exactly where he usually has it. He just has to fight through it.” … Nola on the mound Monday evening against Colorado’s Cal Quantrill. The Rockies are in for three games, followed by three more at home with the White Sox this week. Those two visiting teams are a combined 6-25 this season.

The Pacers took the upper hand in the tourney’s East Group A standings, improving to 2-0 in pool play. The Sixers slipped to 1-1.

Myles Turner added 17 points for the Pacers, whose bench outscored the Sixers’ by 33-6.

Joel Embiid scored 39 points and De’Anthony Melton added 30 points. Tyrese Maxey was held to 27 points on 9-of-23 shooting after scoring a career-high 50 points against the Pacers on Sunday.

In a reversal of Philadelphia’s 137-126 wire-to-wire win on Sunday, it was the Pacers who were in control for most of the first three quarters. The Sixers held the lead for just 26 seconds in the first three quarters as the Pacers built a 13-point lead early in the third thanks to hot shooting from Haliburton and Toppin. Haliburton was sharp from beyond the arc, going 6 for 8 from 3-point distance in the first half to help the Pacers build a 63-54 lead at intermission

For the game, Haliburton was 11 for 18 from the floor and 7 for 12 beyond the 3-point line. Toppin was 12 for 15 from the floor.

Philadelphia climbed back inot the game in the fourth, taking its first lead on a Harris turnaround jumper shortly after he returned after he was staggered and removed when Kendall Brown fell on his head and neck area. Harris returned after being cleared by concussion protocol.

But after a back-and-forth stretch, Indiana went on an 11-2 run that gave it the separation it needed and a lead it never relinquished.

Pacers forward Jalen Smith left the game with a head injury, and the team said he was being transported to a hospital for evaluation and additional testing. Smith was knocked down in a collision at the defensive end of the floor midway through the second quarter as Sixers forward Paul Reed went up for a dunk.

UP NEXT

Pacers: Off until Sunday when they host the Orlando Magic.

76ers: Host the Boston Celtics on Wednesday.

Schwarber stoked that fiery feeling again Monday night, taking the first delivery from Arizona starter Zac Gallen deep to right field, the house of nearly 46,000 at Citizens Bank Park roaring in kind. It was a jumpstart to what would be a 5-3 Phillies victory in Game 1 of the NLCS.

It also was another pleasant stab of nervous joy for Schwarber, who with that home run surpassed former Phillie Jimmy Rollins and Yankees all-timer Derek Jeter with his fourth leadoff home run in an MLB postseason game.

“Absolutely I like being able to lead off a game,” Schwarber said. “You’re walking up to the plate, and next thing you know 46,000 people are getting on their feet and ready to rock ‘n’ roll. I think it’s just positive anxiety … where I can’t control anything out on the field anymore.

“I’m just trying to put myself in different scenarios when I’m in the cage. So whenever I am out there, I’m not going to be shocked by any kind of scenario. But it’s definitely anxious. You’re wanting to get out there, wanting to be in front of the fans, get in that box and try to start the game off by getting on base or anything like that.”

Schwarber didn’t quite duplicate it Tuesday night, with Trea Turner doing the first-inning home run honors. But he cranked one just out over the wall in right in the third off Merrill Kelly.

As anyone who follows Phillies news and fan views knows, Schwarber is not exactly your prototypical leadoff guy. He’s far from the hitter Jeter was, can’t flash nearly the speed Rollins did. And despite the rules prohibiting overshifting during the season, he only managed to hit .197. But as his .343 OBP would suggest, Schwarber seems properly cast in the leadoff role with his 126 walks, second in the majors only to Juan Soto.

And then there’s that ultimate Schwarber intangible – he hit 47 home runs during the regular season, 11 of them when leading off a game. At that kind of rate, Rollins’ franchise-leading 46 all-time leadoff homers in a game might fall at some point to a guy who hasn’t been here that long.

“You’re looking to set a tone,” Schwarber said. “If that’s a home run, if it’s a walk, a single, whatever it is, to try to get on base for these guys behind me. Yeah, it’s a really special thing. Those are things I’m not going to forget ever, whenever I’m done playing.”

• • •

Schwarber was followed two batters later in Game 1’s first inning by Bryce Harper, who hit a somewhat more majestic home run into the bullpens in center off Gallen.

Shots like that and the crowd reaction turn Schwarber into more of a fan than fellow star attraction.

“I mean, everyone went nuts. This guy, he is looking for the moment, and he wants it,” Schwarber said of Harper. “He’s doing such an unbelievable job for us. Talking about when he is going up to the plate, you are just thinking that he is going to do something special every single time. Can that be unfair to have an expectation on a player? Sure. But that’s what everyone is thinking when you’re in the dugout: ‘Man, what’s this guy going to do next?’”

• • •

Matt Strahm earned a large measure of respect from everyone with his ability to escape the ninth-inning jam he was handed last Thursday in Game 4 of the NLDS. After reliever Greg Soto left after putting runners at the corners with no outs, Strahm was a surprise call, and he came in got three straight outs to eliminate the Braves.

“I’m not a starter. I’m not a back end guy. I’m just a pitcher,” Strahm said. “When the phone rang and it was me, it’s just get the outs until the ball is no longer in your hands. … It’s just you’ve got to get an out. That’s the way this game goes.”

• • •

NOTES >> Thomson said either Taijuan Walker or Cristopher Sanchez will be the Game 4 starter Friday in Arizona, and that both are available out of the bullpen for now. … D-Backs manager Torrey Lovullo said he’d start righty Brandon Pfaadt against Ranger Suarez in Game 3 Thursday. … D-Backs bullpen guy Kevin Ginkel on dealing with Phillies fans: “They get on you if you’re not performing, but then they’re your best friend when you are performing. Warming up in the bullpen, you hear the jeers, you hear the crowd and stuff, so it’s just special.”

Diamondbacks staff squeezed competitive juice from a morning run at the Palestra

Late career chance in Arizona lands Merrill Kelly in key NLCS spot