Mattingly doesn't look at the 'depressing' standings

The Miami Marlins second-half nosedive rolls on.

Facing the lowly Philadelphia Phillies, the Marlins dropped the first two games of the three-game set to push their losing streak to five straight, falling further out of the wild-card picture.

"I never look at the standings as far as doing the math, because the math is depressing," manager Don Mattingly told Tim Healey of the Sun Sentinel before the Marlins' 4-3 loss to Philadelphia on Tuesday.

Sitting at 47-41 at the All-Star break, the second-half of the season has been a complete disaster for the Marlins. They've gone 21-30 - including dropping 10 of their last 11 - to fall 13 1/2 games back in the National League East and six back of the second wild-card spot.

Part of the reason for the Marlins decline was the loss of Giancarlo Stanton in mid-August to a groin injury. The club went 7-15 after the slugger was placed on the DL and lost 5 1/2 games in the wild-card standings.

Stanton returned to the lineup Tuesday ahead of schedule, and picked up a single, but Mattingly conceded he'll likely be limited to pinch-hitting duties for the time being.

"He's basically a bat off the bench right now, and he will continue to rehab," Mattingly told reporters. "We feel like he will continue to get better and better. We'll see if he will be able to get back on the field or not to play the outfield and things like that."