Justin Crawford sits again vs. a lefty, but it’s not a continuation of their Brandon Marsh strategy

BOSTON — As the Phillies waited out the rain Thursday, the lineup was posted on a wall in the cramped visiting clubhouse in Fenway Park.

Justin Crawford wasn’t in it.

Never mind that Crawford homered to center field one night earlier and made a sliding catch on a shallow fly ball. With former Phillies lefty Ranger Suárez on the mound for the Red Sox, interim manager Don Mattingly kept Crawford, a left-handed hitter, on the bench.

Righty-swinging Felix Reyes started in left field, with lefty-hitting Brandon Marsh moving to center. The Phillies also went with a righty hitter (Edmundo Sosa) at second base in place of a lefty (Bryson Stott).

» READ MORE: Don Mattingly explains decision to lift Andrew Painter after five solid innings in Phillies’ loss to Red Sox

It marked the third consecutive time that Crawford didn’t start against a lefty. But Mattingly maintained that he isn’t staying away from the 22-year-old rookie against same-side pitching, as the Phillies did for years with Marsh.

“You know, it’s not so much I don’t think [Crawford] can hit lefties,” Mattingly said. “It’s like, you’ve got to get Sosa in there. And with this lefty [Suárez], it felt like another righty in there is more beneficial in this ballpark, so you try to get Felix in there. He’s got a chance to bump one over [the fence].”

Crawford has struggled against lefties, albeit in a small early-season sample. He’s 1-for-18 with one walk and five strikeouts.

But Crawford took Red Sox starter Sonny Gray deep on a thigh-high fastball in the third inning Wednesday night. It was his first Fenway Park homer, four fewer than his dad, Carl Crawford, hit here for the Red Sox in 2011 and ‘12.

“It feels good,” Crawford said. “I think it feels better to just put a good swing. That’s what I’m trying to do, just hit the ball hard. I just put a good, quality swing on the ball.”

The Phillies were even more encouraged by Crawford’s catch given his inconsistent defense. In particular, he has struggled at times to get a jump on pop flies to shallow center field.

» READ MORE: Phillies preparing to face an ‘absolute animal’ in former teammate and friend Ranger Suárez

But Crawford covered 93 feet, according to Statcast, on Masataka Yoshida‘s fly ball in the fourth inning. He slid and made a shoestring catch.

“I’ve been working with [outfield coach] Paco [Figueroa] a lot on just anticipating more,” Crawford said. “I knew there was going to be an offspeed pitch right there, so kind of just anticipating and expecting it was going to be off the end of the bat. I figured I had to get on my horse a little bit and go try to make a play.”

Said Mattingly: “It was good to see because those are the ones that have been kind of dropping. But he made a good play there, kind of showing that this is a little bit of the future.”

Mattingly made the sensible move to use a pinch-hitter for lefty-swinging Marsh in the ninth inning Wednesday night against hard-throwing Red Sox lefty closer Aroldis Chapman.

But it also ended Marsh’s career-long 13-game hitting streak.

“During the game, I’m like, ‘Hey, you’ve got 13. How important is it?’” Mattingly said. “And he goes, ‘I know who’s out there.’ He goes, ‘I just want to win a game.’ I said I didn’t think he was going to get [Joe] DiMaggio. Maybe we should start a new one today.”

Marsh entered Thursday still leading the majors with a .343 average.

» READ MORE: Don Mattingly explains decision to lift Andrew Painter after five solid innings in Phillies’ loss to Red Sox

Trea Turner returned to the lineup after feeling ill and not starting Wednesday night. He drew a pinch-hit walk in the ninth inning. … Through Wednesday night, Kyle Schwarber had a 1.132 OPS in Fenway Park, the fifth-best mark in the ballpark’s 114-year history among hitters with at least 100 plate appearances, trailing Frank Robinson (1.188), Johnny Grubb (1.179), Ted Williams (1.149), and Brandon Lowe (1.138). … Aaron Nola (2-3, 5.14 ERA) is scheduled to start the series opener in Pittsburgh at 6:40 p.m. Friday against Pirates right-hander Braxton Ashcraft (2-2, 2.77).

Watch the latest episode

Despite playing only two seasons for the Phillies, Aaron Rowand left his mark. Literally. Twenty years ago Monday, Rowand smashed into the center-field fence and broke bones in his face to make a catch. And if that didn’t instantly boost his popularity with the fan base, his answer four days later to a question about why he would sacrifice his body certainly did. Rowand joins Phillies Extra to reminisce about “The Catch,” his role in helping to change the culture around the Phillies, and a lot more. Watch here.

You can also subscribe to the podcast version of Phillies Extra on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

Previous episodes: Hunter Pence | Paco Figueroa | Gage Wood | Scott Boras | Brian Barber | Aaron Nola | Justin Crawford | Garrett Stubbs | Kyle Schwarber | Brad Keller