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Baker moves Phillips down in lineup

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By Mark Sheldon / MLB.com

04/22/09 10:55 PM ET

CHICAGO -- The 0-for-21 slump Brandon Phillips had entering Wednesday was too noticeable, especially since the second baseman has been the Reds' regular cleanup hitter.

Until now.

Reds manager Dusty Baker moved Phillips down from fourth in the lineup to sixth in the second game of the Cubs series. The move switched Phillips with third baseman Edwin Encarnacion, who went from sixth to fourth.

"I just want to take a little pressure off of Brandon. We've all been there," Baker said. "I'm not blaming nothing on him. He's not the only one struggling. He's just in the heart of the lineup, that's all."

Phillips hasn't batted as low as sixth since April 11, 2007, at Arizona.

Baker delayed posting his lineup until he could speak in his office with Phillips.

"I told him, "Hey, man you start banging again, we'll move you back up,'" Baker said. "For a couple of days at least here, we'll go with this."

Also playing into the decision was some history vs. Cubs starting pitcher Ted Lilly. Phillips entered the night 1-for-19 (.053) lifetime vs. Lilly

"That's not going to help the situation," Baker said.

Meanwhile, Encarnacion was 5-for-18 (.278) vs. Lilly, but he hasn't been hitting much better. Encarnacion came into the night batting .175 (7-for-40) in 13 games this season while Phillips was at .143 (6-for-42).

Phillips came in with just one hit on the current road trip, and that was an RBI single over a week ago, on April 14 at Milwaukee.

Only three players -- Phillips, Encarnacion and Joey Votto -- had played every inning of every Reds game. Baker was asked if Phillips' struggles might warrant a day off so he can regroup.

"Not really. He's not tired," Baker said. "Plus, with the options we have, in this ballpark, he's an option to scald one. I believe in the law of averages, and it's definitely on his side. This is too big a series to have your big boys out of there."

Staying in the lineup ended being good for Phillips, who wound up 2-for-4 in the Reds' 3-0 over the Cubs. He snapped his hitless streak at 22 at-bats with a fourth-inning single to right field with the hit-and-run play on. In the ninth inning, Phillips singled to left field.

Mark Sheldon is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.