Trea Turner returns to leadoff spot, Bryce Harper to first base as Phillies remain without injured Luis Arraez
Arraez remains out with a sprained left ankle. While he's out, Harper could move between first base and right field.
As the Phillies plunged into a teamwide slump over the last few weeks, Don Mattingly preached consistency over change in the batting order.
But something finally changed Saturday.
With two games to go and the Phillies needing to win at least once to clinch the final National League wild card, Mattingly flipped Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner atop the order, with Turner leading off for the first time since Aug. 3.
“Honestly,” Mattingly said, “we really didn’t change a whole lot. Just a little different feel as much as anything else. It’s not a huge change.”
» READ MORE: Alec Bohm represents changes that might be coming to the Phillies. Who else could be on the way out?
Mattingly also put Bryce Harper back at first base and Alec Bohm at third, a return to the infield alignment before the deadline trade for Luis Arraez, who missed his second game in a row with a sprained left ankle.
The Phillies haven’t disclosed the severity of Arraez’s injury, though Mattingly described it as “a pretty good ankle sprain.” The team hasn’t put a timetable on his return either, though it doesn’t appear imminent. If he’s placed on the injured list, he will miss at least the wild-card miniseries.
“It doesn’t feel great,” Mattingly said. “We don’t know what he’s going to be able to do. We’ll see how far we can go with it. Obviously, we’re hoping he can do something, but it doesn’t feel that great.”
In Arraez’s absence, Mattingly said Harper could move between first base and right field. When Edmundo Sosa starts, he’s best suited for third base, which would put Harper in the outfield; when Bryan De La Cruz starts, it would be in right field, with Harper at first base.
Turner’s return to the leadoff spot comes amid a 12-game stretch in which he batted only .244 with a .358 on-base percentage. But Schwarber was in a 6-for-48 (.125), 15-strikeout rut over his last 14 games.
As a team, the Phillies were batting .241 with a .292 on-base percentage, .632 OPS, and 74 runs in their last 21 games en route to going 8-13. In the previous 21 games, a 17-4 stretch, they batted .273 with a .352 on-base percentage, .756 OPS, and 110 runs.
Sunday’s for Luzardo
Jesús Luzardo was scheduled to test his strained left shoulder by facing hitters.
It didn’t happen.
Given the possibility that the Phillies will need to win Sunday, the first day Luzardo is eligible to return from the injured list, the star lefty didn’t throw live batting practice so he could be available to come out of the bullpen against the Rays in the season finale.
“Everything’s in play at this point,” Mattingly said.
» READ MORE: Don Mattingly would be ‘a little surprised’ if injured Luis Arraez plays in Rays series
Luzardo hasn’t pitched since his 109-pitch shutout of the Braves on Sept. 7. He was shut down from throwing Sept. 11 and didn’t resume until Sept. 20. He threw roughly 30 pitches off a bullpen mound Thursday.
Mattingly doesn’t believe Luzardo is being rushed back.
“I only feel comfortable because everyone else feels comfortable, through medical, through him, through the pitching guys, watching his bullpen, all that stuff,” Mattingly said. “I would not want to be the guy making that decision just by what I see or what I want. It’s more about what everybody else is saying and what they think he’s capable of.”
Extra bases
Setup reliever Jonathan Bowlan (groin) is “doing good” after throwing a bullpen session Friday. Mattingly said he could be available to pitch Sunday. Bowlan hasn’t pitched since Sept. 17. … The Phillies are scheduled to face Rays righty Nick Martinez (15-5, 2.94 ERA) in the regular-season finale at 3:05 p.m. Sunday.
Let's talk about the Phillies' bullpen. Larry Andersen happens to be an expert on the subject. The popular Phillies radio analyst had a 17-year major-league career in which he appeared in 699 games – all but one in relief. He joins Phillies Extra to break down the biggest question standing between the Phillies and a long run through October: How will they bridge the gap to closer Jhoan Duran? Watch here.
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