Why did Phillies move Brandon Marsh to cleanup spot, drop Alec Bohm in lineup vs. Diamondbacks?
PHILADELPHIA — Left fielder Brandon Marsh will bat cleanup for the Phillies on Friday night as the team returns home to Citizens Bank Park, still searching for its first run since Monday.
After two shutout losses in San Francisco earlier this week, manager Rob Thomson decided to shake up his lineup for the opener of a three-game series against right-hander Michael Soroka and the Arizona Diamondbacks. Marsh will slide up to the No. 4 spot, while Alec Bohm will drop to seventh.
The Phillies will have righty-hitting leadoff man Trea Turner, then four left-handed hitters — Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper, Marsh and Bryson Stott — followed by three righties in Adolis García, Alec Bohm and J.T. Realmuto. Rookie Justin Crawford, another lefty batter, will hit in the No. 9 spot.
“They don’t have a lefty in the (bullpen),” Thomson said of the Diamondbacks, “so we just stacked the lefties all at the top there.”
Bohm, the team’s primary cleanup hitter to start the year, hit a home run on Opening Day, but he’s struggled overall. The third baseman is batting .186 with a .550 OPS. Thomson wants to see him “get back to himself” by hitting line drives to all fields. With the Diamondbacks using only right pitchers in South Philadelphia, Bohm will hit lower in the order.
Despite hitting .167 with a .405 OPS, the lefty-hitting Stott will stay put in the middle of the lineup with García behind him.
Marsh is batting .275 with one home run and a .727 OPS to start this season, with a .795 OPS against right-handed pitchers. He did not record a hit last April, but he’s been one of the Phillies’ best hitters since then. He’s batted seventh nine times so far in 2026 and started another game in the No. 8 hole. He’ll now get his chance in the middle of the order.
“I think he’s swinging the bat well. Ever since May last year, he’s swung the bat great,” Thomson said. “Now, that doesn’t mean he’s going to stay in the four spot.”
While he’s been productive, Marsh is best suited as a platoon player who sits against lefties, with a career .578 OPS against left-handed pitchers. That won’t be an issue against Arizona, so Thomson feels comfortable leaning on Marsh as the cleanup batter. He’ll likely stay at No. 4 as the Phillies face three righty starters in Soroka, Brandon Pfaadt and Zac Gallen.
Because the calculus becomes more complicated once the opponent can insert a lefty reliever against Marsh, there’s a good chance the Phillies will end up shuffling their lineup again at the conclusion of this series.