Trea Turner sinking, Phillies hitters will try to “flip the switch” in Game 2 against the Mets.

Trea Turner walked into the Phillies clubhouse on Saturday at 7:55 p.m. He was in full uniform and had a bat in each hand. Their 6-2 loss to the Mets in Game 1 of the National League Division Series had ended a half-hour earlier, but the Phillies shortstop wanted to take a few extra swings.

So he entered the cage as assistant hitting coach Rafael Peña fired punch after punch. He saw dozens of them, maybe 100.

“Just to talk and look at some things,” Turner said. “Get ready for tomorrow.”

He had had a frustrating night. Turner went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts against the Mets. The Phillies scored two runs on five hits with four walks and eight strikeouts.

They squandered one of the best starts of Zack Wheeler's playoff career and set an ominous tone for the rest of this series. What added to the frustration in the clubhouse was that everyone knew what the problem was. It was the same problem the Phillies had this time last year.

“We chase balls in the dirt,” Bryce Harper said. “We didn’t delve as deeply into the count as we should have. We have to understand what they want to do to us and immediately flip the switch to commit a crime.”

Flipping the switch is easier said than done. The more you press, the more you try not the more difficult it is to do exactly that. However, it can be helpful to know the opposing team's game plan. And the plan for how to attack the Phillies on Saturday night was clear.

There weren't many pitches in the zone. That didn't stop the lineup from wobbling.

“I mean, obviously they're going to bury stuff,” Harper said. “And try to get us to hunt as much as possible. Obviously they have really good pitching. But we have really good batsmen here. We just have to persevere and understand that we can do it.”

After Kyle Schwarber hit a leadoff home run off Kodai Senga in the first inning, the Phillies did not score again until the bottom of the ninth inning. By then it was no longer enough. The Mets had already reached five in the eighth, scoring three runs against Jeff Hoffman and two against Matt Strahm.

In the bottom of the ninth they took another lead over Tanner Banks. It was a depressing way to lose, especially after Wheeler limited the Mets to just one hit.

” READ MORE: Murphy: The Phillies just lost Game 1, which they almost had to win. The bats should arrive quickly in Game 2.

“It sucks,” Nick Castellanos said. “It's annoying. It's annoying. The way he threw the ball, I think he definitely deserved a win.”

Harper added: “Obviously I feel like we wasted that start as an offense.”

Turner said he struggled with borderline throws — ones that only touched the corners of the zone that could be described as a strike or a ball. Castellanos, Alec Bohm and Johan Rojas were in the hunt with higher odds.

But no matter, the results were almost completely the same. Castellanos finished his night 1-for-4 with two strikeouts. Bohm went 0-for-4 and Rojas went 0-for-2 with a walk.

“I think I tracked a pitch on my first at-bat and one on my second,” Turner said. “The last time I hit I didn’t chase anyone. I don't know, it's hard; On my second swing I get a borderline pitch ball and they call it a strike. And then you kind of think about it. “You gotta swing there,” and I ended up swinging the curveball down, the groundball to the shortstop.

“In hindsight it’s so simple and I definitely agree with (manager Rob Thomson). Obviously you can't win these games by not chasing. We went for a few walks today. I thought we did a good job of that. But we have to pass the baton.”

What didn't help either the Phillies or the Mets was that the start time was late afternoon. Long shadows stretched across the field. A playing field could appear light and then dark and then light again and then dark again depending on how the shadows were cast in the afternoon.

” READ MORE: Hayes: The heartless Phillies collapse again in Game 1 of the NLDS against the Mets, like they did in the NLCS last year

It affected both teams. Pitching is harder to hit in the playoffs; It's especially difficult when you can't see the trajectory or rotation of the ball flying towards you.

“I feel like from the first inning to the seventh inning it was really hard to watch the baseball,” Castellanos said. “I think on both sides. What three hits (two) did we have in the first seven innings?

“And then I think both teams — after the sun disappeared behind the stadium — put together some better shot defenses.”

He added: “It's like we start at 1.30pm and at the end the game comes to an end and it becomes more difficult. It starts at four o'clock, it gets harder when there are no clouds in the sky, and it gets easier as the game goes on.”

The Phillies play the Mets again on Sunday, at the same time: 4:08 p.m. Their games on Tuesday and Wednesday are at 5:08 p.m. at Citi Field. The shadows will still be there. The temptation to persecute will still be there. The Phillies just have to find a way to overcome it.

“It’s going to be tough,” Castellanos said. “It will be the same (shadow) for us as it was for them. We have to find a way to deal with it, put together good at-bats and score more runs than them.”