Why Brandon Marsh is starting, Bryson Stott is sitting as Phillies face A’s lefty
PHILADELPHIA — Phillies second baseman Bryson Stott, the owner of three home runs in his last five games, reiterated his preference to play against both right-handed and left-handed pitching on Tuesday night. But with lefty Jeffrey Springs on the mound for the Athletics on Wednesday, the right-handed-hitting Edmundo Sosa will take his usual place in the lineup with Stott on the bench.
Meanwhile, Brandon Marsh will slide over to center field to give rookie Justin Crawford a night off. Felix Reyes will play left field in the second of a three-game series at Citizens Bank Park.
Springs will be the first left-handed starter the Phillies will face since they fired Rob Thomson and named Don Mattingly their interim manager. They’re 7-1 in that stretch, but production against lefties has been a major weakness for the club. Mattingly relied on Sosa’s past success against southpaws (.789 career OPS) when filling out the batting order.
“There will be days where Stott faces lefties,” Mattingly said, “but Sos has been really good. To me, we got to keep everybody involved.”
The Phillies lack a right-handed-hitting natural center fielder on the roster, making it impossible for Mattingly to both hide Crawford against lefties when trying to get him rest and fully platoon Marsh, who’s batting .182 against lefties on the season, without playing someone out of position.
But in the infield, Mattingly stuck with the platoon arrangement at second base. Phillies star Bryce Harper was adamant on Tuesday night that Stott is an everyday player who should play against all pitchers, regardless of the hand they use to throw. While Mattingly still sat Stott in favor of Sosa, he said he didn’t mind Harper sharing his thoughts.
“I appreciate all the information I get from everyone, opinions and all that,” Mattingly said. “But I’m still looking at it from the standpoint of everybody on the bench. I know we’re going to need everybody, just doing kind of what we do.”
Sosa has become a valuable reserve for the Phillies, and he’s best utilized against left-handed pitching. If he doesn’t start on Wednesday, he might not start for a while. Mattingly doesn’t want Sosa glued to the bench. But as Mattingly mentioned, there will be occasions when Stott will face lefty starters.
The Phillies use Sosa, a utility infielder, to give the other regulars rest. Third baseman Alec Bohm is batting just .161 on the season. If his results don’t improve soon, maybe the Phillies would check out what it would look like for Sosa to play third and Stott to play second against lefties with Bohm on the bench.
But no matter what, Mattingly wants to mix in a player like Sosa so he can figure out the ideal arrangement for later in the year.
“Over the course of the season, you do what you do with your guys,” Mattingly said. “And at some point, you make a decision, saying, ‘Well, this is where we’re going.'”