Is the Phillies’ Cesar Hernandez struggling at the plate enough to give Scott Kingery a start?
Cesar Hernandez has reached base in just eight of his first 32 plate appearances. But Gabe Kapler made it clear that Hernandez’s job as the starting second baseman is not in question and that he would be in the lineup the next day if Scott Kingery starts.
Gabe Kapler has used the same starting lineup for eight of the first nine games, making a change just once to rest the knees of catcher J.T. Realmuto. But the Phillies manager could be nearing another switch.
Cesar Hernandez was hitless in Sunday’s 2-1 win over Minnesota and has reached base this season in just eight of his first 32 plate appearances. It could be time for Scott Kingery, who has just five plate appearances, to receive his first start of the season.
“It’s something that is under consideration and we’ll talk about it tonight,” Kapler said. “Cesar has not gotten off to his best start. We also have a tremendous amount of confidence based on his track record. He has a track record of getting on base. He has a track record of being a productive offensive player. We expect the same from him this year. And if we decide he needs a blow then we’ll get Scotty in here.”
Kapler made it clear that Hernandez’s job as the starting second baseman is not in question and that he would be in the lineup the next day if Kingery starts a game. Kingery has played just 10 outs in the field this season as the Phillies rolled with a set lineup.
The Phillies knew it would be a challenge this season to find playing time for their four bench players as their casts of regulars would play nearly everyday. They brought up minor-league pitchers on Friday and held a simulated game for Kingery, Nick Williams, and Aaron Altherr in hopes of keeping them fresh. Kapler said last week the team was exploring other ways to simulate game action. The Phillies, at least for a day, should be able to see how well that simulation worked.
Robertson’s confidence
David Robertson, after a poor start to his Phillies career, logged another scoreless outing, which the team hopes can help build the reliever’s confidence.
Robertson retired two of the three batters he faced in the eighth inning, a day after he logged a scoreless inning. Kapler, seeing that Robertson had done enough to gain confidence, lifted him for Adam Morgan, who retired left-hander Eddie Rosario for the final out of the inning.
The Phillies like Robertson’s chances against both right- and left-handed hitters, so it is not their long-term plan to pull him against left-handed batters.
“We wanted to kind of give him the opportunity to ease back into that role,” Kapler said. “He’s going to get huge outs for us. He’s going to go through four or five batters at a time. He’s going to go through three or four lefties. In this particular case, we gave him one and then we wanted to go to Mo.”
Extra bases
Vince Velasquez will make his first start of the season Monday against Nationals right-hander Anibal Sanchez. Aaron Nola will face right-hander Stephen Strasburg on Tuesday and Nick Pivetta will start Wednesday’s series finale against right-hander Jeremy Hellickson. ... Maikel Franco’s seventh-inning double was the 500th hit of his career. ... Rhys Hoskins is batting .433 with five doubles, five homers, 15 RBIs, and 10 walks in his last 10 games at Citizens Bank Park.