Phillies bullpen gets closer to full strength going into Marlins series

The Phillies’ 11-4 win over the Yankees on Sunday ended a four-game slide, and it also provided a needed reset for the bullpen heading into this week’s road trip.

Cristopher Sánchez turned the ball over to Tim Mayza for the seventh inning on Sunday, and Chase Shugart pitched the last two innings. The Phillies’ 11 runs were crucial, because several of their higher-leverage relief arms were on the shelf.

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José Alvarado and Jonathan Bowlan were unavailable Sunday after appearing in two consecutive games. The bullpen was stretched even thinner as Orion Kerkering was down for four days with flu-like symptoms, but the righty is back to full health and was available on Monday, according to interim manager Don Mattingly.

“He played catch, but we weren’t willing to use him [Sunday],” Mattingly said. “But now he’s back, so that helps, too.”

The unit will be closer to full strength as they meet a scuffling Marlins team that entered Monday on a 12-game losing streak, which has them three games back of the final wild-card spot. But even so, the Phillies know they can’t afford to take any team lightly.

“We’re not exactly on fire,” Mattingly said. “And I think our guys understand that we got to win games, and Miami’s a tough team. They do a lot of things. They run, they mix and match you. Before that streak, they were one of the hottest teams in baseball. So those things cannot be part of the equation, right? Our thought should be to jump them early and try to keep them down, right? Make them not ride that, get a wave going their direction. We’re trying to create our own wave.”

After dropping three straight series at home against the Mets, Dodgers, and Yankees, posting a 3-6 record, the Phillies have a more forgiving schedule coming up. As of Monday’s standings, the Phillies’ next 10 series are against teams out of playoff position.

Mattingly maintains that he doesn’t want to use Thursday’s off day to skip the fifth spot in the starting rotation, even though the Phillies have lost 11 consecutive games started by that spot.

The Phillies are expected to go with a bullpen game on Friday at Baltimore, and Brian Keller is expected to play a role in it after making his long-awaited major league debut on Saturday.

“He threw strikes, got outs, gave us three innings. Kind of what we were looking for that day. … It was one of our better bullpen games, I think,” Mattingly said of Keller.

Kyle Schwarber took ground balls at first base again Monday. He is expected to start there on Tuesday, while Mattingly will give Bryce Harper what he described as a “half day” by starting him at designated hitter. Schwarber played 10 innings at first earlier this season and made five putouts in five chances.

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Schwarber moving back into the field for a day will give Harper a chance to reset at the plate. He has a .156 average and .607 OPS in nine games since the break.

Harper has particularly struggled against left-handers of late. In 34 plate appearances against lefties in July, Harper has recorded just two hits. He has drawn five walks but has struck out 13 times.

Backup catcher Garrett Stubbs (left wrist inflammation) is eligible to come off the injured list on Tuesday. Since Rafael Marchán was placed on the injured list with patellar tendinitis in his left knee on July 23, J.T. Realmuto has started four straight games. His bat has heated up after the All-Star break with a .379 average in 29 at-bats. “For me, the biggest thing when J.T.’s good, he’s in his legs, and the leg kick’s not quite as big,” Mattingly said. “J.T.’s kind of getting back to looking like himself.” … Aaron Nola (3-8, 5.82 ERA) is scheduled to start Tuesday against Marlins right-hander Sandy Alcantara (10-6, 4.01).

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