Brandon Marsh stars in leadoff role for Phillies in 8-2 win over the Marlins
Marsh hit a two-run homer off former Phillie Tyler Phillips in the second inning, one of three that the Phillies hit. Jesús Luzardo had a strong outing, allowing just two runs over seven innings.
Brandon Marsh took to his new spot in the Phillies batting order right away.
The left fielder, whose .324 average is fourth-highest in baseball, has been hitting well no matter where he’s been in the lineup. But Tuesday was his first time starting a game in the leadoff spot since 2022, when he was with the Angels.
First, Marsh worked a four-pitch walk from Marlins starter and South Jersey native Tyler Phillips. Then, in classic leadoff-hitter fashion, he stole second, so that he was in scoring position when Alec Bohm dropped a ball right inside the right field line for a single.
» READ MORE: Phillies place Brad Keller on injured list; Kyle Schwarber starts at first base
It sparked a three-run first inning for the Phillies that put them ahead for the 8-2 win, and secured the series victory over Miami.
Marsh’s move to the top of the order was intended as a temporary one, as interim manager Don Mattingly tried something different with his top three spots with Trea Turner out of the lineup with a bruised wrist.
But the experimentation seemed to work. In the second inning, Marsh and Bohm both hit two-run homers, with Bohm’s traveling 447 feet. The Phillies continued to run up the score against Phillips, whose ERA ballooned from 1.86 to 3.10 when his night ended after four innings.
Kyle Schwarber, who was batting second and started at first base for the first time since 2021, bashed a solo home run in the fourth for good measure.
Jesús Luzardo, meanwhile, shut out the Marlins for six innings. After a leadoff walk to start the game, Luzardo retired 12 consecutive Marlins until Javier Sanoja singled in the fifth.
He allowed another single and a walk to load the bases, but wriggled out of the jam by getting Xavier Edwards to ground out. Luzardo also escaped trouble in the sixth after giving up a leadoff double, retiring three straight. Catcher J.T. Realmuto helped him out by successfully challenging a ball call that turned into a strikeout.
But Miami got to him in the seventh, spoiling the shutout with a two-run home run on a sweeper in the bottom of the zone. Luzardo rebounded with a groundout and consecutive strikeouts to end his outing on a high note.
Tanner Banks and Max Lazar each pitched a scoreless inning in relief. Lazar had been recalled earlier on Tuesday when Brad Keller was placed on the injured list. He allowed a two-out single but then induced a groundout back to the mound, which he tossed over to Schwarber at first to seal it.
Say this for the Phillies: They are what we thought they were, a playoff contender led by two aces atop the starting rotation and a dominant closer. Pitching coach Caleb Cotham joins "Phillies Extra," The Inquirer's baseball podcast, to discuss the state of the Phillies' pitching, from the success of Cristopher Sanchez and Zack Wheeler to the struggles of Andrew Painter. Watch here.
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