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<\/p>\nHOUSTON \u2014 Yeah, Brandon Marsh was surprised. \u201cMaybe a little bit,\u201d Marsh said. \u201cBut you always want to go to bed expecting to be in there.\u201d Before he fell asleep Tuesday night in Texas, he saw Wednesday\u2019s lineup pop into his phone. He was in there, against a lefty starter.<\/p>\n
So was Bryson Stott.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope they\u2019re everyday guys,\u201d Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. \u201cI hope. We\u2019ll see how it all transpires.\u201d<\/p>\n
After Buddy Kennedy and Johan Rojas didn\u2019t have the best at-bats in Tuesday\u2019s 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 \u2014 five of them \u2014 to record all 27 outs in Wednesday\u2019s 2-0 game.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to be able to stay with our approaches,\u201d said Kyle Schwarber, who was peeved he couldn\u2019t put a ball in the air with runners on first and third in the eighth inning. \u201cI feel like we\u2019ve done such a really good job of staying in the zone and not feeling like we\u2019re helping the (pitcher) out. We\u2019re getting our pitches and we\u2019re taking our swings. And we just have to keep doing that on a consistent basis.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to be able to stay with our approaches,\u201d Kyle Schwarber said. \u00a0(Maria Lysaker \/ Imagn Images)<\/p>\n
As the Phillies debate how to approach the trade deadline, Stott and Marsh are critical figures. Marsh\u2019s 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 \u2014 the 15th game of the season.<\/p>\n
Stott, who has underperformed this season, started for only the ninth time in 24 games the Phillies have faced a lefty starter.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis isn\u2019t the last opportunity you\u2019re going to get,\u201d Thomson said. \u201cSo relax, go out and play.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Phillies won\u2019t see another lefty starter for at least the next six games, so it\u2019s 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\u2019t until the third game that Thomson budged.<\/p>\n
Maybe there will be more chances. Stott and Marsh had gone three days without seeing live pitching. There is something to having regular work.<\/p>\n
\u201cA hundred percent,\u201d Marsh said. \u201cJust getting the consistent work and reps. I feel like there\u2019s 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\u2019re 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
He peaked in 2023 when he had a .730 OPS against them. The Phillies do not trust him as much now.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was more of the rhythm factor for me,\u201d Stott said earlier this month. \u201cJust starting every game, unless I played 15 in a row. I mean, I\u2019m not using that as an excuse by any means. But I\u2019ve always been a rhythm player. When you\u2019re in a rhythm, you want to stay in that rhythm. If it doesn\u2019t happen, then it doesn\u2019t happen. I just always go back to \u201923, and look what I did in \u201923. I hit .330 off the lefty starters and played in 158 games.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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\u2019d be an everyday player.<\/p>\n
That never happened. Same with Marsh.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you start going around the club, it\u2019s hard to platoon everywhere,\u201d Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said Dec. 20. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to platoon strictly in center and in left. So they\u2019ll both be given an opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Platoons can work; the Phillies haven\u2019t 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 \u2014 as a late-inning defensive replacement and potential pinch runner \u2014 but the club could look to limit his time at the plate.<\/p>\n
Weston Wilson didn\u2019t produce as Kepler\u2019s platoon mate. Otto Kemp hasn\u2019t hit for power yet. Everything led Thomson back to Stott and Marsh. For now.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Marsh was excited for the opportunity. \u201cJust because it\u2019s been a minute,\u201d 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.<\/p>\n
So it goes.<\/p>\n
(Top photo of Brandon Marsh: Leslie Plaza Johnson \/ Icon Sportswire via Associated Press)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HOUSTON \u2014 Yeah, Brandon Marsh was surprised. \u201cMaybe a little bit,\u201d Marsh said. \u201cBut you always want to…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":16968,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[1266,2083,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-16967","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb","8":"tag-mlb","9":"tag-philadelphia-phillies","10":"tag-sports","11":"tag-united-states","12":"tag-unitedstates","13":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114751089206482323","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16967","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16967"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16967\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16968"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16967"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16967"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16967"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}