Harrison Bader to get opportunity vs. right-handed starter; David Robertson to be activated Sunday

ARLINGTON, Texas — As the Phillies embark on a 10-game, three-city road trip, their outfield will shuffle around.

In the first six games since the Phillies acquired Harrison Bader at the trade deadline on July 31, Phillies manager Rob Thomson has deployed his outfielders in a strict platoon. Against right-handed starters, Brandon Marsh starts in center and Max Kepler in left. Against lefties, Bader starts in center field and Weston Wilson in left. Nick Castellanos is the only constant, starting every day in right field.

Against Texas Rangers right-hander Merrill Kelly on Friday, Thomson kept to the status quo, with Marsh and Kepler in the starting lineup. But don’t count on those platoons staying intact going forward.

“I’m going to try and mix it up a little bit in the next couple of days,” Thomson said. “Just because I want to find out who’s hot, who’s not, and go from there. Kepler had a good day the other day and has swung the bat pretty well lately. I really like Bader. Marsh is a guy, Casty’s an every day guy. So I got to figure it out.”

» READ MORE: How will the Phillies manage their new-look outfield? Let’s break down the options.

Thomson declined to elaborate on what his plans are specifically, but he did say Bader will get the opportunity to start against a right-hander on Saturday, when Jacob deGrom takes the mound for Texas.

Bader actually has slightly better numbers against right-handers this season, and had plenty of opportunities against them as an everyday player with the Twins. This season, Bader has a .789 OPS against right-handers, compared to a .719 marker against lefties.

David Robertson pitched on back-to-back days on Wednesday and Thursday for triple-A Lehigh Valley, checking off the final box on his to-do list before being ready to face major league hitters. If he recovers well, he will join the Phillies on Sunday.

Robertson threw 15 pitches in one inning on Wednesday, allowing one hit and striking out two. On Thursday, he threw five pitches, striking out the only hitter he faced, top Yankees prospect Spencer Jones.

“He really threw the ball well the other day,” Thomson said. “It was 94 [mph], cutter was good, and breaking ball’s been good, and he’s hitting his spots. So we’ll just have to see. But I see sort of easing him in a little bit.”

José Alvarado made the first appearance of his minor league assignment with Lehigh on Thursday, marking his first official game action since he was suspended for testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs. Alvarado threw one inning, allowing one hit and striking out two. He threw 12 pitches and touched 98.6 mph with his sinker. Alvarado is eligible to be reinstated from his suspension on Aug. 19.

“Alvarado was unbelievable. … He just looked right. Cutter was fantastic,” Thomson said.

» READ MORE: Aaron and Austin Nola both pitched on the same night — even though one brother is a catcher

Alec Bohm (left rib fracture) is currently in Lehigh Valley, and will begin playing games on Sunday.

“There’s no target. But want to make sure that his timing is right and he’s going to produce when he gets back here, so however many at-bats that takes, we’ll do it,” Thomson said.

Aaron Nola (right rib stress fracture) will make his next rehab start on Tuesday, and could be activated after that depending on how he comes out of it. In his first two rehab starts, Nola has allowed seven hits, three walks, and one earned run over 6 ⅔ innings, and has struck out six.

The Phillies entered Friday searching for their first win in Arlington since March 31, 2014. They have lost 10 straight on the road against the Rangers, including all five games since Globe Life Field opened in 2020. … Jesús Luzardo (10-5, 4.32 ERA) is scheduled to start on Saturday against deGrom (10-4, 2.80 ERA).