PHILADELPHIA – As managerial plans go, things went about as well as Don Mattingly could’ve scripted for a first lineup with Luis Arraez in it Tuesday night.
Arraez hit cleanup for his interim manager in his first game as a Phillie, settling a lineup jumble with a few potential solutions.
In the first inning, Trea Turner hit a broken-bat single, Bryce Harper walked and Arraez delivered an RBI single for a 1-0 lead.
In the third, Turner beat out an infield single. Harper walked. Arraez laced a double down the line in left to score Turner and key a three-run inning.
The Phillies’ Bryce Harper, left, and Luis Arraez celebrate after Arraez hit a run-scoring single in the first inning against Washington Tuesday night. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
With Arraez’s once-again teammate Jesus Luzardo dealing eight shutout innings, that was enough for the Phillies in a 5-0 win over the Nationals and, for at least his first night in red pinstripes, set the template for how all these bats can fit together.
“Yeah, that was nice,” Mattingly said. “Just good to see what Luis brings, just the energy he plays with. To get off to a good start like that, it’s nice.”
Arraez was acquired Monday along with reliever Caleb Kilian for two prospects from San Francisco. It was known that the three-time batting champ, who has bounced around infield positions, preferred to play second base and has worked hard to become one of the top defenders at any position this season in terms of outs above average.
But where in the batting order he hits is immaterial to him. Pregame, Arraez took the tack of, “If I see my name in the lineup, I’ll be happy.”
Going 2-for-4 in his debut paired with a warm reception from fans in his new home made for a happy night.
“I was excited,” he said. “I was happy, especially when the fans gave me that ovation. That was beautiful. I really was happy, and then thanks to the fans to give me that energy.”
The Phillies had options in the lineup. The conventional one would place a contact hitter like Arraez – who leads the National League with a .324 average – in the leadoff spot with power hitters like Harper and Kyle Schwarber behind.
But despite his elevated average, Arraez doesn’t walk much. So his on-base percentage of .360 entering Tuesday was in the range of Schwarber (.365) and Harper (.359). Instead of chasing the chance of turning Schwarber solo homers into multi-run bombs, Mattingly’s logic was to use Arraez’s pressure on opposing pitchers to keep the line moving and guarantee he’ll hit a lot with runners on base.
As pointed out by the Phillies’ game notes, Arraez’s .352 batting average with runners in scoring position is the highest among the 1,357 hitters to have 500 such at-bats since 1974, past Hall of Famers Tony Gwynn (.350) and Rod Carew (.347).
“He’s not afraid to take a pitch, not afraid to get into a count in a count and not afraid to hit with a strike,” Mattingly said. “He’s not a guy that really swings and misses much at all. So you can tell the confidence he has when he’s taking certain pitches, not afraid to go right away either. It’s just a guy that knows what he’s doing up there.”
His happiness and energy is apparent, in the field and on the base paths, where he’s fond of celebrating and hopping off bags to draw the attention of pitchers. It’s an extension of his approach at the plate, where his contact skills and low swing-and-miss are unmatched in modern MLB. In four plate appearances, he saw 22 pitches, including eight in battling Zack Littell for his two-strike double.
“I’ve known him for a long time, and that’s what he does,” Luzardo, his former Marlins and Venezuelan national teammate, said. “You know he’s going to get his knocks, but just the energy he brings in the clubhouse, in the dugout, on the field, just kind of keeps it light, and I love to have him here.”
“He’s that type of player,” Harper said. “He’s going to bring the emotion, he’s going to bring the fire as well, and he plays like that every day. So it’s exciting to have him on our side.”
Arraez primarily hit first (31 times) and second (48) this season with the Giants, batting cleanup just six times. He’s hit cleanup just 38 times in his eight-year career.
But given the pieces around him, he could fill that spot to unlock that best version of the Phillies.
“I’m here to go there and show what I can do, and especially to give the energy to the guys,” Arraez said. “That’s what I do. It’s natural. I don’t try to do that, but that’s me.”