DETROIT — Less than two hours before Tuesday’s game, Brandon Marsh was on the field at Comerica Park. It was his only action of the night. Two hitting coaches positioned the curveball machine on the slope of the mound and Marsh — along with Kyle Schwarber, Alec Bohm and Edmundo Sosa — took some hacks.
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Marsh did not start in a 4-1 Phillies loss to Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal, one of the best young lefty starters in the sport. That was not a surprise. It’s been 40 days since Marsh started against a lefty. (He did start a game on May 28 “opened” by a lefty, who had been removed by the time Marsh batted.) The Phillies are going to play the platoon advantage whenever sensible.
So, Cristian Pache started Tuesday night against Skubal. Sosa was at second base. Whit Merrifield was in left field. Phillies manager Rob Thomson had only two lefties, Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper, in his lineup. “I don’t really concern myself with whether it’s a right-hander or left-hander throwing,” Thomson said before the game. “Mainly because of the fact Schwarber and Harper hit them.” He’s right. Schwarber and Harper have excellent numbers against lefties this season. They went 2-for-5 with a double and a walk against Skubal.
The seven righties went 1-for-19 with a single. Two reached base on a hit-by-pitch and a Tigers error.
“That’s one of the better performances we’ve seen this year,” Thomson said.
It’s unwise to read too much into the 2 hours and 4 minutes of baseball Tuesday night. Skubal is good. Really good. He might start the All-Star Game for the American League. Nothing that happened Tuesday indicates what the future holds for these Phillies.
Final line for Tarik Skubal:
7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K
He induced 19 whiffs, 11 with his changeup. Nasty once again.
Season ERA: 2.32
— Cody Stavenhagen (@CodyStavenhagen) June 26, 2024
But they should expect to see good pitching come October. They know the Atlanta Braves have two tough lefties — Max Fried and Chris Sale. The Los Angeles Dodgers could have a few in their rotation. As Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski evaluates his club leading into the July 30 trade deadline, he’ll have to decide whether the Phillies’ optimal lineup against lefties is too vulnerable.
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A few caveats: This is a spot where the Phillies miss J.T. Realmuto. He hit .301/.346/.480 against lefties before his knee surgery. That .826 OPS was better than his solid career .791 mark against lefties. Having him in the middle lengthens the lineup. Trea Turner, who missed six weeks of this season, has improved his at-bats against lefties from a season ago.
Thomson said his lineup against lefties will probably include Bryson Stott, who has struggled. Sosa, who has crushed lefties, played for him Tuesday and went 0-for-3 against Skubal.
Marsh is hitting .143/.225/.167 against lefties this season. It is difficult to justify more playing time, although the Phillies insist Marsh is not a platoon player. It is, right or wrong, a self-fulfilling prophecy at this point. Marsh mustered a hit last Sunday against a lefty, his first one since May 23.
“It’s baby steps,” Thomson said this week. “And like I’ve always said, eventually, I think he’s going to be … I don’t really consider him a true platoon player.”
But the Phillies have treated him as such. It’s why, after Monday’s win, even Thomson’s brother, who is in town for the series as a fan, wanted some insight into the manager’s decisions. Thomson used the righty-hitting Pache to pinch-hit for lefty David Dahl in the sixth inning of that game. “Why didn’t you pinch hit for Marsh the inning before?” Thomson’s brother asked. The Phillies were winning and Thomson wanted to keep Marsh on defense.
If the Phillies won’t try Marsh against most lefties — or do not think Marsh is viable in those spots — they could stand to upgrade from either Merrifield or Pache, who are his platoon partners. Merrifield started for only the second time in the team’s last 11 games. He had the lone hit by a righty against Skubal, an opposite-field single. Pache had uncompetitive at-bats — three strikeouts on 12 pitches — against Skubal.
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The Tigers are going to open Wednesday’s game with a lefty, then have a rookie righty pitch bulk innings.
“I don’t think we really care,” Turner said. “Obviously, you look at the splits. Kyle’s been really good this year. Bryce has been raking all year. Historically, I’ve hit lefties pretty well too. So I don’t think we really care about that. When you run into a good pitcher, you run into a good pitcher. It doesn’t matter if they’re righty or lefty. We have faith in us at the top. I think we’re built to win.”
They are. Even after Skubal dominated them, the Phillies have the second-best OPS in the National League against lefties. They are now 19-14 when they face a lefty starter. These are first-world problems. Schwarber and Harper can make clubs regret targeting them with lefties. Turner is right: The Phillies have dangerous threats at the top of their batting order.
They just need some of their other righties to be more consistent. And, if they can’t, then it might be worth seeing more of Stott and Marsh against lefties this summer. Or an outside acquisition.
“I think we’re fine,” Thomson said. “Our win-loss record is pretty good against lefties. It’s a little bit better against righties. But I feel good about it. The problem is you don’t see many lefties, so you have to mix in Whit and Pache and Sosa whenever you can — even against right-handers, just to keep them sharp.”
Fair enough. But, as the summer progresses, the Phillies are collecting small pieces of evidence that could compel them to change their minds. It’s not a backbreaking deficiency, but the Phillies are operating from a position of strength. They can be picky about what they add to this team. Even the smallest weaknesses can be exposed in October.
(Photo of Kyle Schwarber: Duane Burleson / Associated Press)