October 06, 2024

NLDS: Phillies sit Alec Bohm, Edmundo Sosa in at third for Game 2

Rob Thomson is putting Sosa in at third looking for energy a day after Bohm and the Phillies struggled at the plate to start their postseason run.

By Nick Tricome
PhillyVoice Staff

Bill Streicher/Imagn Images

Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm went 0-for-4 at the plate in Saturday's Game 1 NLDS loss to the Mets.

Rob Thomson posted the Phillies' Game 2 lineup. Alec Bohm won't be in at third on Sunday. Edmundo Sosa will.

"We want to get some energy in the lineup with Sosa," the Phillies manager said pregame (via Tim Kelly of Phillies Nation and On Pattison). "He's kind of our energy guy. Bohmer, he's not swinging the bat particularly well, but, I mean, he's not the only one. He's frustrated, but I just want to get Sosa in there."

Rob Thomson explains the decision to start Edmundo Sosa over Alec Bohm at third base in Game 2 @PhilliesNation @OnPattison pic.twitter.com/FqXuaN0lKs
— Tim Kelly (@TimKellySports) October 6, 2024

The Phillies trail the Mets, 1-0, in the best-of-five NLDS after their Game 1 effort fell apart on them. Zack Wheeler was excellent in his start, but the bats struggled against a New York bullpen game, and the Phils' own bullpen couldn't hold the line on a one-run lead that carried into the eighth.

The Mets strung together a late rally and took a pivotal opening contest at Citizens Bank Park, 6-2.

Bohm went 0-for-4 at the plate in an overall brutal day for the Phillies' lineup, and his frustration was clear.

Still, the call to sit him down the next day for Game 2 as the Phils try to work their way back into the series comes as a bit of a shock.

"I know he's frustrated because he wants to produce," Thomson said (again via Kelly). "He's a professional, so he is frustrated. It's just one of those things, and like I said, I just wanted to get Sosa in there. He's kind of an energy guy and makes things happen usually when he's in there."

The Phillies are hoping Sosa will again, looking to split the first two of the postseason series at home now before it shifts to Citi Field up in Queens later this week.

Bohm broke out into an All-Star campaign this season, but his production dipped in the second half – a .251/.299/.382 slash line compared to a .295/.348/.482 clip in the first – and the final stretch of September saw him fall into a 2-for-27 rut.

Those struggles carried into the postseason, even after a layoff to regroup from the bye out of the Wild Card round. Now Bohm is getting another day to try and reset while the Phillies' super utilityman Sosa tries to provide a spark.