hillies three-run seventh.TRAINERS ROOMMarlins: RF Stanton might be available to pinch-hit soon, Mattingly said. Hes moving pretty good, Mattingly said. Hes feeling g

MIAMI -- The Miami Marlins first two pitchers Monday were No. 67 and No. 65, which helps explain why the team is rapidly fading from playoff contention.Starter Jake Esch and reliever Austin Brice werent projected to be part of the postseason chase, and wore numbers typically seen on spring training prospects. Each of them gave up three runs as the Marlins lost 6-2 to the Philadelphia Phillies.The Marlins have dropped four in a row and are 11-22 since Aug. 1, with their thin depth an issue as injuries mount.We knew that we were going to be challenged depth-wise, manager Don Mattingly said. We needed a little bit of luck and everything to fall in its slots. In the past month and a half, it has probably fallen the wrong way, and it has put us in a bind.Miami fell two games below .500 for the first time since April 27 and could be headed for a seventh consecutive losing season.Esch (0-1) -- No. 67 in your scorecard -- pitched five innings in his second major league start but failed to protect a 2-0 lead.Its a positive step in the right direction for me personally, Esch said. But it ended up as a loss for the Fish again. So I have to be a little bit better.The Marlins mustered only six hits. They havent homered at home since slugger Giancarlo Stanton went on the disabled list Aug. 14 with a strained groin.Miamis first two batters scored. Dee Gordon tripled and came home on a single by Ichiro Suzuki, and J.T. Realmuto hit a two-out RBI single in the first.But the Phillies blanked the Marlins the rest of the way. Jerad Eickhoff (10-13) and three relievers combined to retire the final 15 Marlins in order.Freddy Galvis hit a two-run homer to snap a streak of 18 consecutive scoreless innings for Philadelphia. The Phillies run total was their highest since Aug. 14.The Phillies managed only one hit off Esch until the fifth, when they scored three runs. Galvis upper-deck homer made it 2-all, and Peter Bourjos tripled and came home when shortstop Miguel Rojas mishandled a one-out grounder for an error.POOR COMMANDBrice made two throwing errors -- one to first base and one to second -- in the Phillies three-run seventh.TRAINERS ROOMMarlins: RF Stanton might be available to pinch-hit soon, Mattingly said. Hes moving pretty good, Mattingly said. Hes feeling good. He has been able to swing the bat. Its just a matter of what he can do, and how safely he can do it. ... 1B Justin Bour (right ankle) might be activated Tuesday, Mattingly said. ... Rojas left with a left groin strain, and his status is day to day.UP NEXTMarlins RHP Jose Urena (3-5, 5.40 ERA) faces Phillies LHP Adam Morgan (1-9, 6.21 ERA) on Tuesday. Over his past three starts, Urena is 2-1 with a 2.04 ERA. Salomon Shoes Nz Stockists . The native of Mont-Tremblant, Que., captured a World Cup downhill event Saturday, his second this year and fifth career victory on the circuit. Salomon Shoes Online Nz . -- Most satisfying to Russ Smith about No. http://www.salomonoutletnz.com/ .ca NFL Power Rankings, overtaking the Denver Broncos and remaining ahead of NFC competition San Francisco, Carolina and New Orleans. Buy Salomon Shoes Nz . Terms of the deal were not immediately available. The 26-year-old finished last season with Clevelands Triple-A affiliate in Columbus after signing with the Indians in August. Salomon Shoes Nz Outlet .Y. -- Marcell Dareus and the Buffalo Bills defence made life miserable for Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco. When a defense slips significantly coaches frequently refer to it as slippage.Lately, the Brooklyn Nets have used the term frequently when discussing their many defensive ailments.Practice time has been limited but the Nets will have had two days to see if drills carry over into a game setting Wednesday night when they host the Boston Celtics and attempt to end an ugly four-game losing streak.Were plugging holes right now defensively, leaking in different places, coach Kenny Atkinson said. Were going to have to regroup, get some practice time, get some film time, get our principles back. I keep talking about slippage. Weve slipped.Brooklyn is allowing 113.3 points per game overall but in this skid, the Nets have allowed 126.2 points per game and no fewer than 27 points in the 12 quarters. Besides the points, the Nets allowed opponents to shoot at least 50 percent in three of those games and are among the worst defensive teams in shooting percentage and other areas.Its been consistent for the past four games. Its just different teams, but weve been the same, center Brook Lopez said. A lot of its the same. Its not any one person, glaringly obvious. Its just team-wide, whatever it is. I dont think you can fault our effort or energy. ... Its a team-wide situation we need to figure out.The slippage has resulted in Brooklyn allowing at least 120 points in four straight games for the fifth time in its NBA history. The last occurrence was Jan. 30-Feb. 4, 1990, when the New Jersey Nets allowed an average of 123 points in losses at Phoenix, Denver, Golden State and the Los Angeles Lakers.The Nets also have allowed 120 points or more in five games this season. It is two shy of last years total when the Nets ranked 24th in points allowed per game and 29th in defensive rating and one shy of the 2014-15 total, though three of those games reached overtime.Compounding the sub-par defense is inconsistent offense.While the Nets are among the leaders in possessions (102.2) per game, they have an offensive rating (104.1) that is in the bottom 10th of the league. It is because the Nets are shooting 44 percent overall and 32.5 percent from 3-point rrange, numbers that place them in the bottom third of the league.ddddddddddddThe latest inconsistency on offense occurred during Sundays 129-109 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. Lopez made his first seven shots when the Nets scored 64 points in the first half but Brooklyn shot 26 percent in the second half.Meanwhile, the Celtics have won two in a row after rallying from 15 down for Mondays 99-93 victory at Minnesota.Isaiah Thomas scored 20 points for the 13th time by totaling nine of his 29 in the final five minutes. Al Horford scored 20 points after getting the game-winner Saturday at Detroit and has 38 points since returning from missing nine games with a concussion.The Celtics lost five times in Horfords absence but it gave coach Brad Stevens an opportunity to look at his depth. It was on display Monday when the Celtics received 16 of their 31 bench points in the fourth quarter.Boston scored 17 straight points to open the fourth when reserve Terry Rozier scored eight of his 12 points.When we get in, we got to either pick up where the first team left off or we got to even play harder than that, Rozier said. We had a team meeting not too long ago and thats one of the things we said. When we got in there, we just play hard. A lot of credit goes to Al, too, working hard. Just a lot of things, everything worked in our favor once we played hard.The one negative from Monday was Jae Crowder sitting out the final 16 minutes with left ankle pain. It is the same injury that kept him out for eight games and he might sit out Wednesday. If Crowder sits, Marcus Smart could get the start.Smart averaged 10 points in Crowders place and also was credited for sparking Bostons comeback by calling the team out for lack of effort at the end of the third.Really it all started at the end of the third, Marcus Smart calling out all of us, Horford told reporters.The Celtics took the first meeting on Oct. 26 in Boston when Thomas had 25 points and nine assists in a 122-117 win. Boston has won six of the last nine meetings. ' ' '