The city of Philadelphia In the already tight outfield, the Phillies have escaped two major injuries.
Nick Castellanos, a right fielder, left Thursday’s 6-4 victory over the San Francisco Giants in the top of the seventh inning due to pain in his left hip flexor. In the bottom of the fifth, as he attempted to run out a double play ball, he felt it. In the sixth, he felt his hip tighten while playing defense. Edmundo Sosa entered the game as a left-field player. Max Kepler moved from the left to the right. Following the game, Castellanos referred to the early departure as “precautionary.” He anticipates playing on Friday, extending his run of games played in a row during the regular season to 184. To be honest, he doesn’t really care about the number.
After attempting to save an odd bounce from landing behind him during the previous game, Brandon Marsh injured his right knee and was left out of the starting lineup. According to manager Rob Thomson, he is regarded as daily. He doesn’t think Marsh will require an IL stint.
The already intolerable outfield issue would have gotten worse with one IL placement. It would have been almost awful to have two. Despite Marsh’s current 0-for-31 slump, Castellanos has been the Phillies’ most reliable hitter. Among the team’s eligible batters, his batting average of.304 is the highest. Kyle Schwarber (1.032) is the only player with a higher OPS than him (.867). In just 18.6% of his plate appearances, he has struck out. It would be by far the lowest rate in his career if that figure remains true.
For the Phillies, the outfield—especially left and center field—has been an adventure. The OPS for Phillies center fielders is.450. The Chicago White Sox and the New York Mets are two clubs that are in some ways worse. Johan Rojas hasn’t appeared to be doing any better, but Marsh has been having trouble. He is a glove-first defender who has committed some costly outfield errors. If Marsh had to be placed on the injured list, Cal Stevenson, who is on the 40-man roster, would have probably been the next man up. At Triple-A Lehigh Valley, his batting average is.186 and his OPS is.647.Another alternative would have been to hit Óscar Mercado with his right hand. If the Castellanos injury was severe, Weston Wilson, who is still recovering from an oblique injury sustained during spring training, might have been called up sooner. Justin Crawford, a 21-year-old excellent prospect, should not be called up at this time.
Additionally, left field is uneasy. Max Kepler was an everyday player with the Phillies going into this season. The last three times the Phillies have faced a lefty, he has not been in the starting lineup. On April 8, they decided to start Edmundo Sosa in left against Chris Sale. On Sunday, he sat next to Matthew Liberatore. In order to give J.T. Realmuto a DH day against Robbie Ray on Wednesday, they positioned Schwarber in left. Kepler is 3-for-16 with six strikeouts against lefties.
The Phillies’ Opening Day outfield is still in place for the time being. The Phillies have problems that other clubs would love to have, whether or not that is a good thing is part of the issue. All season long, they haven’t made any roster changes. The Atlanta Braves, who are 5-13 and lost their biggest free agency signing of the year due to a PED suspension, are their fiercest competitor. The Mets, who lead the Phillies by 0.5 games in the NL East, are still awaiting the return of their two rotation arms and starting catcher from the injured list.
The Phillies can find solace in having an ascending ace like Cristopher Sánchez signed to a long-term contract, even though things may appear hopeless for a team that struggles to hit with runners in scoring position and appears sparse in the bullpen. On Thursday, the 2024 All-Star posted a career-high 12 strikeouts. Since Cole Hamels no-hit the Chicago Cubs in his last start as a Phillie on July 25, 2015, he became the only left-hander in Phillies history to strike out at least 12 in a game. Sánchez’s changeup was whiffed at by Giants batters 22 times, the most in a single game.
All four of Sánchez’s starts have been victories for the Phillies. Each of those victories followed a defeat.
Through a team interpreter, Sánchez stated, “It’s staying healthy as much as possible.” Being present and possessing the mindset of a stopper is the next step. to consistently pitch in a way that puts my team in a winning position.
The Phillies are now 11-8 as a result. Their record through the first 19 games of 2024 is exactly the same. Before the game, Thomson made sure to bring that up to the press.
