HOUSTON — Yeah, Brandon Marsh was surprised. “Maybe a little bit,” Marsh said. “But you always want to go to bed expecting to be in there.” Before he fell asleep Tuesday night in Texas, he saw Wednesday’s lineup pop into his phone. He was in there, against a lefty starter.

So was Bryson Stott.

The Phillies hit the halfway mark of another season this week, and it still qualifies as newsworthy whenever Stott or Marsh starts against a lefty. They are platoon players on pace for fewer plate appearances against lefties in 2025 than in the previous two seasons. The Phillies have entered every season intending to learn whether either can evolve into an everyday player, and halfway through 2025, they have not gleaned much new information.

“I hope they’re everyday guys,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “I hope. We’ll see how it all transpires.”

After Buddy Kennedy and Johan Rojas didn’t have the best at-bats in Tuesday’s loss, Thomson stuck Stott and Marsh in there. Then the Phillies were shut out in consecutive games for the first time since Aug. 13-14, 2022. The Houston Astros flexed by using a lefty pitcher — five of them — to record all 27 outs in Wednesday’s 2-0 game.

Marsh had two singles. Stott added one. He hit a ball 395 feet to center that would have been a homer in some yards. It was a decent night for them, but not for the right-handed hitters in the middle of the lineup. Alec Bohm, Nick Castellanos and J.T. Realmuto were a combined 0-for-12.

“We have to be able to stay with our approaches,” said Kyle Schwarber, who was peeved he couldn’t put a ball in the air with runners on first and third in the eighth inning. “I feel like we’ve done such a really good job of staying in the zone and not feeling like we’re helping the (pitcher) out. We’re getting our pitches and we’re taking our swings. And we just have to keep doing that on a consistent basis.”

“We have to be able to stay with our approaches,” Kyle Schwarber said.  (Maria Lysaker / Imagn Images)

As the Phillies debate how to approach the trade deadline, Stott and Marsh are critical figures. Marsh’s start against the lefty was his first since May 30, but that was against an opener. This, then, was his first true start against a lefty since April 13 — the 15th game of the season.

Stott, who has underperformed this season, started for only the ninth time in 24 games the Phillies have faced a lefty starter.

There might be a certain pressure knowing their chances against lefties have been rare. Thomson said he reiterated a specific message to Stott and Marsh.

“This isn’t the last opportunity you’re going to get,” Thomson said. “So relax, go out and play.”

The Phillies won’t see another lefty starter for at least the next six games, so it’s a chance for Stott and Marsh to find a rhythm. The Phillies went almost two weeks without seeing a lefty starter, then faced one in three straight games. It wasn’t until the third game that Thomson budged.

Maybe there will be more chances. Stott and Marsh had gone three days without seeing live pitching. There is something to having regular work.

“A hundred percent,” Marsh said. “Just getting the consistent work and reps. I feel like there’s way more pros than cons in that, you know? But we got a really good group of 26 players that can all produce and help us at this level. We’re experimenting a little bit here and there. Probably just seeing what lineup fits the best and who fits best wherever. Just finding a good flow.”

Stott is convinced he would benefit from more consistent playing time. Earlier in the season, when Edmundo Sosa was so productive at the plate, Thomson rode the hot hand. Stott is hitting .224/.286/.241 in 63 plate appearances against lefties this season.

He peaked in 2023 when he had a .730 OPS against them. The Phillies do not trust him as much now.

“It was more of the rhythm factor for me,” Stott said earlier this month. “Just starting every game, unless I played 15 in a row. I mean, I’m not using that as an excuse by any means. But I’ve always been a rhythm player. When you’re in a rhythm, you want to stay in that rhythm. If it doesn’t happen, then it doesn’t happen. I just always go back to ’23, and look what I did in ’23. I hit .330 off the lefty starters and played in 158 games.”

Maybe none of this matters. Most National League contenders project to have one or zero lefties in their postseason rotations. The Phillies, more than anything, need the righties in the middle of the lineup to supply some power.

They are committed to platooning one player, Max Kepler, who sat for a third straight game. He has started three times this season when a lefty opposed the Phillies. Once was on Opening Day, another was against an opener on May 30. Kepler has a .621 OPS against lefties and a .707 mark against righties. He remains a confusing fit for this roster that could use more righty pop. The Phillies signed Kepler for $10 million and declared he’d be an everyday player.

That never happened. Same with Marsh.

“If you start going around the club, it’s hard to platoon everywhere,” Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said Dec. 20. “It’s hard to platoon strictly in center and in left. So they’ll both be given an opportunity.”

Platoons can work; the Phillies haven’t found ideal partners for Kepler or Marsh. That might be the bigger issue. There is growing frustration with Rojas, who has seven hits in his last 59 at-bats. He serves a purpose — as a late-inning defensive replacement and potential pinch runner — but the club could look to limit his time at the plate.

Weston Wilson didn’t produce as Kepler’s platoon mate. Otto Kemp hasn’t hit for power yet. Everything led Thomson back to Stott and Marsh. For now.

Houston sent a return message. It was the first time in Astros history they used five left-handed pitchers in one game. It was only the third time in at least 30 years a team used five left-handed pitchers in a nine-inning game against the Phillies.

Marsh was excited for the opportunity. “Just because it’s been a minute,” he said. The outfielder stacked some confidence with two good at-bats, but in between them, he struck out looking with runners on first and second.

So it goes.

(Top photo of Brandon Marsh: Leslie Plaza Johnson / Icon Sportswire via Associated Press)