Through the Phillies first six games of the season, the absence of Chase Utley could be felt up and down the lineup, but no more so than with Ryan Howard, who continues to struggle to keep his batting average above .500.

Before the season began, several baseball experts predicted that the Phillies offense would struggle without their All-Star second baseman, but as Howard said Thursday, no one could have predicted it would be this bad.

“It’s getting hard to get up in the morning,” said an emotional Howard, who saw his average dip to .480 after a 1-for-4 showing against the Mets on Thursday. “I really don’t know what’s going on right now. You try to change your approach at the plate and watch video, but nothing works and your average stays around .500. It’s, like, really frustrating.”