Sizzling Brandon Marsh on his continued tear: ‘It’s just believing you can do it’
Marsh went 4-for-4 Sunday and is leading the majors in hitting.
The gaudy numbers are plastered on the scoreboard for all to see. But to fully understand how well Brandon Marsh is playing for the Phillies, think back to where he was a year ago.
“Don’t make me think of that,” he said the other day, laughing.
Sorry, but it’s relevant. Because it’s one thing for Marsh to be leading the majors in hitting with a .353 average after going 4-for-4 Sunday. It’s quite another when you consider he was 0-for-April last season and hanging his head so low that he could assist the grounds crew in dragging the infield.
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Things were going so badly for Marsh that it was almost fortuitous when he strained his right hamstring. It was a mild strain, but the Phillies still sent him on a triple-A assignment that included two road games in Rochester, N.Y., to help rebuild his confidence.
Upon his return, he batted .303 with 10 homers and an .836 OPS for the rest of the season. Layer on this season’s fast start, and Marsh is a .317 hitter with 14 homers and an .852 OPS in 153 games over the last calendar year.
And the view from atop the hitting leaderboard?
“It’s pretty freaking cool,” Marsh said.
Surely, though, he must appreciate how far he’s come.
“For sure,” he said. “I feel like after that April last year, I kind of re-found myself and my confidence again. It just all starts there. It’s a hard game physically, but it’s way more mental than it is physical. Because you can go up and down the locker room, guy to guy, and physically they have it. It’s just believing you can do it and the work you put in.”
Looking back, Marsh credits catcher Garrett Stubbs and infielder Christian Arroyo with helping him to relax and have fun again.
But teammates and coaches are quick to note that the Phillies believed Marsh was capable of this when they traded for him at the deadline in 2022. After struggling to be consistent — and to hit lefties — earlier in his career, he’s finally emerging at age 28.
“I feel like he’s always had it in him,” Kyle Schwarber said. “I don’t think there’s ever been a doubt. Just go back to last year. If you take away April, it’s pretty good. The more that he’s been able to go out there and do his thing and build that confidence and keep with his routine, great things are going to happen.”
Marsh sprayed the ball all over the field in the series finale against the Rockies. He pulled a single to right field in the first inning, went the other way in the third and sixth, and singled up the middle in the eighth.
For the record, Marsh has hits in 12 consecutive games and 16 consecutive starts. Lately, he’s been starting every game. After sitting against most lefties under former manager Rob Thomson, he’s a fixture in the lineup for interim manager Don Mattingly.
“It’s awesome,” Marsh said. “It’s a blessing to get to go out there and compete and start in a big-league game. It’s what I’ve dreamed of as a little kid. Getting a couple extra opportunities, I love it.”
Said Mattingly: “This guy’s a good hitter. He’s hitting both sides, lefties and righties. He’s a pretty good game-planner. He knows he’s trying to do something specific every time up. If he can do it for the stretch that he’s in, there’s no reason that he can’t keep doing it.”
Running with Duran
The Phillies eased star closer Jhoan Duran back from the injured list, scripting when he would pitch and even using him in the eighth inning Friday night.
Now, the training wheels are off.
“We’re normal now,” Mattingly said Sunday before Duran recorded three outs on 15 pitches in the ninth inning of a 6-0 victory over Colorado. “You won’t be seeing him in the seventh, or just to get him an inning.”
Duran missed about three weeks with a strained muscle in his left side. But his stuff is back to being electric. He cranked up his fastball to 101.8 mph against the Rockies.
Minor matter
With a vacant spot on the 40-man roster, the Phillies claimed righty reliever Jackson Rutledge off waivers and optioned him to triple A. Rutledge was designated for assignment last week by the Nationals.
Rutledge, 27, moved into a relief role last season and posted a 6.01 ERA in 63 appearances for the Nationals. A former first-round pick, he had a 3.38 ERA, eight walks, and nine strikeouts in 13⅓ innings this season for triple-A Rochester.
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Extra bases
Bryce Harper returned to the lineup, as expected, after exiting in the first inning Saturday night with an ocular migraine and homered in the first inning. ... Righty reliever Zach Pop (right calf strain) began a minor-league assignment Saturday and pitched one scoreless inning for triple-A Lehigh Valley. ... After a day off, the Phillies will open a series in Fenway Park. Zack Wheeler (1-0, 3.12 ERA), Andrew Painter (1-4, 6.89), and Jesús Luzardo (3-3, 5.98) are scheduled to start for the Phillies; the Red Sox haven’t set their rotation, but former Phillies lefty Ranger Suárez (2-2, 2.77) is expected to pitch in the series.
