The Phillies brass apparently thought it was a good idea to put Kyle Kendrick back in the starting rotation.

The struggling right-hander had been passed for his last scheduled start in New York against the Mets. Maybe the team brass thought he’d fare better in the friendly confines of Citizens Bank Park vs. the Marlins.

Didn’t quite work out that way.

Kendrick’s woes picked up right where they left off. He had trouble throwing strikes, and when he did they got hit – hard.

Kendrick lasted just an inning and a third. The surprising thing might be that he got four outs.

After retiring the first Marlin he faced, Kendrick promptly walked the second. Eyebrows went up all over the Delaware Valley. But not in the Phillies dugout.

By the time Kendrick exited, the Phils were looking up at a 7-1 hole. This included a visit to the mound from pitching coach Rich Dubee. Unfortunately, Dubee was not accompanied back to the dugout by Kendrick.

Amazingly, the Phils managed to scratch their way back into the game. Ryan Howard hit homer No. 41.

Along the way, there was still one more curious move by Manager Charlie Manuel. In the sixth, pinch-hitter Matt Stairs kept a big rally going by singling in a run to make it 10-8. For some reason, even with all those extra bodies sitting on the bench, Manuel did not run for Stairs, who is not known for his speed. He wound up on third, where third-base coach Steve Smith decided not to send him on a fly ball off the bat of Jayson Werth. That would have been run No. 9. Chase Utley then popped out to end the rally.

The loss puts the Phils two and a half games back of the Mets, who beat the Nationals by an identical 10-8 score.

Looking for good news? The Brewers lost again to the Mets. Their lead in the Wild-Card race over the Phils remains three.

The Phils hook up with the Marlins again this afternoon at 4.

The Phils have owned the city much of the summer. If they continue to flounder, and the Eagles manage to beat the Cowboys Monday night, that will change in a hurry.