Illness keeps Kyle Schwarber out of lineup; Phillies not concerned about Zack Wheeler
“I hope it’s a day, but we’ll see,” said interim manager Don Mattingly of Schwarber. He also said “nothing medical has come our way" on Wheeler, who lasted just three innings on Monday.
MIAMI — Kyle Schwarber was out of the Phillies lineup on Tuesday with an illness, interim manager Don Mattingly said.
It is a similar gastrointestinal issue to the one that caused Schwarber to miss three games in May. In his absence, Bryson Stott moved to second in the batting order against Sandy Alcantara and the Marlins, behind Trea Turner at leadoff.
“I hope it’s a day, but we’ll see,” Mattingly said.
Before the illness, Schwarber was scheduled to start at first base Tuesday to give Bryce Harper a day at designated hitter. Alec Bohm instead moved over to first, and Edmundo Sosa took over at third base.
» READ MORE: The Phillies must go through the Dodgers. To do it they’ll need to find a lefty reliever at the trade deadline.
The Phillies’ bench was short on Tuesday. Derek Hill has been dealing with what Mattingly described as “lower-half stuff,” and has not appeared in a game since Saturday.
“We expect D-Hill back in a day or so, where he’s kind of full-go again, where I can use him in different ways,” Mattingly said pregame on Tuesday.
Bryan De La Cruz also got the start in right field against the right-handed Alcantara over Gabriel Rincones Jr., who went 0-for-3 on Monday. Rincones has a .171 average in 28 games since being called up in June.
“Rico’s been given a decent runway against right-handed pitching. Hasn’t been as good as we’d like,” Mattingly said. “De La’s been getting his hits, and I know he’s going to be solid in the outfield and all that. So I don’t feel like it’s going to be worse than what we’re seeing.”
No concerns about Wheeler
Even though Zack Wheeler’s average fastball velocity was down 1.7 mph in his start on Monday, neither he nor Mattingly expressed concern afterward that a health issue contributed to the drop.
All of Wheeler’s pitches trended down in the three innings he pitched in the 8-7 loss to Miami, which was his shortest outing since 2022. But he said physically he felt fine, even though the ball was not coming out the way he wanted it to.
“Just no excuse. It’s just one of those days for me. Stinks, but it is what it is, I guess,” Wheeler said.
On Tuesday, the Phillies maintained that there was no concern about an injury affecting him.
“Nothing medical has come our way,” Mattingly said.
Stubbs returns
Backup catcher Garrett Stubbs was reinstated from the 10-day injured list on Tuesday and was in the Phillies lineup. Stubbs had been on the shelf with left wrist inflammation and had not appeared in a game behind the plate since July 5. His last two appearances before the injury were pitching in blowout games.
As a corresponding move, catcher Payton Henry was optioned to triple-A Lehigh Valley. Henry was recalled Friday when Rafael Marchán also wound up on the injured list with patellar tendinitis in his left knee, but did not appear in a game. J.T. Realmuto started four consecutive games instead and got the day off on Tuesday.
» READ MORE: Andrew Painter had a solid week in triple A. Is he an option to rejoin the Phillies’ rotation soon?
Realmuto has been swinging a hot bat lately, with a .395 batting average and .942 OPS since July 11. That included a ground-rule double in Monday’s loss to the Marlins.
Extra bases
Brad Keller (torn UCL in right elbow) received a second opinion on his injury and will decide next steps soon. … Jesús Luzardo (9-5, 3.31 ERA) is scheduled to start Wednesday’s series finale. The Marlins’ scheduled starter has not been announced.
Jim Bowden spent 16 years as a general manager with the Reds and Nationals before becoming an MLB analyst and commentator. And with the trade deadline approaching — Aug. 3 at 6 p.m. — he joined Phillies Extra to discuss the Phillies’ needs, some potential targets, and what it’s like to be a GM in the frenzied days leading up to the deadline. Watch here.
You can also subscribe to the podcast version of Phillies Extra on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
Previous episodes: John Middleton | Ryan Howard | Dan Baker | Ricky Bottalico | Preston Mattingly | Caleb Cotham | Larry Bowa | Joe Maddon | Rhys Hoskins