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Tag: Trea Turner

  • Bryson Stott’s ‘stay ready’ mindset helped Phillies complete an ‘epic’ 14-9 comeback win over Nationals

    Bryson Stott’s ‘stay ready’ mindset helped Phillies complete an ‘epic’ 14-9 comeback win over Nationals

    WASHINGTON — The Phillies were down to their very last strike.

    In the dugout, Bryson Stott didn’t know it. If he had, it wouldn’t have mattered. Even though it seemed like the Nationals had seized all the momentum with Jorbit Vivas’ go-ahead homer in the eighth inning, and even though his spot in the lineup wasn’t due up for seven more batters, Stott was ready.

    He was ready even after Brad Lord recorded back-to-back strikeouts to start the ninth and took Trea Turner to a 1-2 count. Behind home plate, fans started to rise from their seats, anticipating the final out of the game.

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    But then Turner — who was 0-for-4 on Tuesday night before he stepped into the box — sent a single to left-center field. And after Brandon Marsh powered a sweeper clear over the Nationals bullpen in right field for a game-tying homer, the idea that Stott might get another at-bat in the game didn’t seem all that far-fetched anymore.

    “I just stay ready,” Stott said. “I think a lot of us are ready, and we know anything like that can happen at any time. … You know who’s hitting in front of you and what they’re capable of.”

    Stott watched Marsh’s at-bat on an iPad in the dugout, and when it was his turn — after Bryce Harper and Derek Hill kept the line moving with singles — he repeated the feat. He sent a homer of his own to the second deck in right field, which stayed just inside the foul pole. The two homers highlighted an eight-run ninth inning that put the Phillies on top for a 14-9 win over Washington.

    “That was pretty epic,” Marsh said. “From everybody.”

    Brandon Marsh batted second in the lineup on Tuesday with Kyle Schwarber out with back tightness.Jess Rapfogel

    Ten consecutive Phillies reached base in the ninth, all with two outs. They racked up five singles, two walks, a double from Edmundo Sosa, and the two homers. Before the Nationals ended the rally, Turner came back up to the plate and delivered his second single of both the game and inning to score their eighth run of the frame.

    The Phillies mounted the comeback — in a game they had once trailed 5-0, then led 6-5, then trailed 8-6 — without major league home run leader Kyle Schwarber, who was scratched a few minutes before first pitch with low back tightness.

    Interim manager Don Mattingly said Schwarber’s back tightened up about seven minutes before the game started and he was unable to swing. Mattingly added that Schwarber’s back was already feeling better postgame.

    “It sounds like this has kind of happened before,” Mattingly said. “I think Kyle’s probably smart enough to know to take care of it, stop right away, and don’t try to keep going.”

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    Sosa found out minutes before the game that he was replacing Schwarber in the lineup at designated hitter. But he filled in well, recording five RBIs. Along with his two-run double in the ninth inning, he hit a two-run homer in the fifth and an RBI groundout in the seventh as the Phillies chipped away at Washington’s early lead.

    “I told myself, ‘Let’s have fun tonight,’” Sosa said through team interpreter Diego D’Aniello.

    Phillies starter Jesús Luzardo watched the ninth inning unfold from the visitors’ clubhouse at Nationals Park with a group of teammates who had also already exited the game.

    “We all had the same reaction after every home run, so it was great,” Luzardo said.

    Luzardo tied a career-high with 13 strikeouts, but he was also charged with five earned runs as he grinded through 6⅔ innings.

    For the most part, though, Luzardo got the contact he wanted. Four runs scored on him in the fourth inning on five singles and a walk, but four of those hits were ground balls and the other was a broken-bat bloop.

    After that inning, Luzardo retired seven consecutive Nationals until he issued a leadoff walk in the seventh. Jonathan Bowlan inherited two runners, but struck out Curtis Mead to strand them.

    “They weren’t really hitting him hard around the field,” Mattingly said. “Just kept giving up hits, some tough plays, and just hanging in there, giving us a chance, I thought was huge.”

    The Phillies took their first lead of the game in the eighth. The Nationals brought in lefty Richard Lovelady to face Marsh, but he made them regret it with a double to the wall, and advanced to third on a fielding error.

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    Alec Bohm worked a walk, was replaced by a pinch-running Garrett Stubbs, and Stott was hit by a pitch to load the bases for J.T. Realmuto. The catcher delivered a three-run double that popped out of a diving James Wood’s glove in right field, putting the Phillies ahead, 6-5.

    “It’s a special, special group that we have, and we just got to keep feeding off each other like we did tonight,” Marsh said.

    Their momentum was temporarily stifled, however, when Orion Kerkering came out for the bottom of the eighth and struggled with command. He issued a five-pitch walk, hit a batter, and then hung a sweeper to Vivas, who capitalized with a three-run homer.

    Kerkering managed to limit the damage there, bouncing back somewhat with two strikeouts and a line-out.

    “And then,” Mattingly said, “we’re able to do our little bit of magic there.”

  • Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber put on a show in Phillies’ rout of the Mets: ‘What a night to be able to have’

    Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber put on a show in Phillies’ rout of the Mets: ‘What a night to be able to have’

    In three weeks, in the same sold-out ballpark, in front of another national television audience, Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper will probably be in the All-Star Game, maybe even the Home Run Derby.

    But they won’t put on a show like this.

    They can’t possibly.

    Can they?

    Whatever happens in the Bank’s All-Star closeup, take this to the bank: The Phillies’ stars put on dueling talent shows for the ages in Saturday night’s 15-3 demolition of the rival Mets. And, no, that isn’t mouth-agape hyperbole over feats we can’t believe we just saw.

    Bryce Harper hits for first-career cycle in five innings, Kyle Schwarber hits three homers vs. Mets

    “They stole the show from me, that’s for sure,” ace Cristopher Sánchez said, laughing, after a one-run, six-inning gem reduced his ERA to 1.84. “It was perfect.”

    It started with Schwarber, who became the fourth player in Phillies history (dating back to 1883, by the way) to smash two homers in one inning before adding a third later in the game for good measure.

    Not to be outdone, Harper tripled in the fifth inning to hit for the cycle for the first time in a career that has spanned 15 seasons and will eventually take him to the Hall of Fame. And it took him only four at-bats, to boot.

    Only once before did teammates do those two things — at least three homers and a cycle — in one game: Lou Gehrig and Tony Lazzeri, Hall of Fame Yankees, in 1932.

    “We were wondering that in the dugout,” Harper said. “We didn’t think there was going to be two guys that did it. But to have those two names up against ours is pretty cool. It’s a pretty awesome moment for both of us.”

    Kyle Schwarber became the fourth Phillies player to homer twice in one inning when he did so in the third.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer

    Or as Schwarber put it, after he and Harper had four hits apiece in a 17-hit Phillies onslaught: “It was a pretty cool overall night, in general.”

    For Harper, it began a few minutes before 3 p.m. with something he rarely does. He took early batting practice on the field, an exercise he prefers to do underneath the stands in the controlled environment of the indoor cage.

    But Harper was in a 1-for-22 funk, even though he’s been mostly pleased with his approach at the plate. He swung mostly at strikes and hit balls hard, but as he said, “it feels like there’s a big, old glove out there.”

    So, Harper went out to the field with one objective.

    “I was trying to hit home runs,” he said. “Haven’t hit really many balls over the fence in a while, so I felt like just going out there and just trying to hit some balls in the third deck. Sometimes that helps.”

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    OK, but hitting a fastball from Mets ace righty Freddy Peralta into the right-field seats on his first swing of the game for his first homer in 10 days?

    That’s absurd. But it fits with the night’s theme.

    Harper was using different lumber, too. He switched to a 34-inch, 35-ounce bat instead of his usual 34-inch, 31½-ounce model — “My heavy bat from the cage,” he said — because he thought he was out in front of too many pitches.

    “That bat’s from 2023, just an old, heavy bat that I swing every day in the cage,” Harper said. “It’s just my workout-routine bat. I said to [hitting coach Kevin] Long about a month ago, I was like, ‘Man, I should use this thing in a game,’ and I never did. Finally I was like, ‘Screw it. I’m going to do it today.

    “I don’t know if it translated to the game or anything else. But what a night to be able to have.”

    Tell Schwarber about it. He led off an eight-run third inning by golfing a 456-foot drive halfway up the second deck in right field. By the time Schwarber’s spot in the lineup came back around, the Phillies had an eight-run lead. It ballooned to 11-0 with another Schwarbomb, 457 feet to almost the same spot.

    “That was cool,” said Schwarber, who didn’t do anything unusual before the game. “First time I’ve done it in my career.”

    In fact, the only other Phillies players to do it were Andy Seminick (1949), Von Hayes (1985), and Trea Turner (2023).

    Why stop there? Schwarber tacked on a third homer in the seventh inning, skying a ball around the right-field foul pole. It marked the fifth time in his career that he hit at least three homers and raised his majors-leading total this season to 28.

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    “That’s what he tries to do, man,” Harper said of the sport’s most prolific home-run hitter. “It’s way different. Just the way he kind of connects to the baseball. He uses the ground so well. He’s got such a simple, short swing. It’s pretty impressive, you know?”

    Almost as impressive as, say, scoring all the way from first base on Harper’s cycle-capping triple.

    Everyone in the dugout was aware of Harper’s pursuit of the cycle. After his first-inning homer, he was typically overaggressive in hustling to turn a single into a double on a liner to right-center before ripping a single in the third inning.

    “We kind of talked about it before, and I was like, ‘Hey, you’ve just got to aim at Monty’s Angle,’” Schwarber said, referring to the area where the wall juts out in left-center field. “And then he gets up there and he hits the ball to center field. I’m like, ‘I’m going to run through the stop sign.’

    “I was pretty predetermined on going, and I’m glad [third base coach Anthony Contreras] was on the same page, too, with sending me.”

    Not that they had much choice. Harper was intent on not stopping around second base, the helmet flying off his head between first and second.

    Harper joked that Schwarber was well-rested because he “jogged a lot tonight.” And when he slid into third, Harper raised both arms skyward, then pumped his right arm and doffed his helmet.

    It was only the 11th time in 144 seasons that a Phillies player hit for the cycle. J.T. Realmuto and Weston Wilson did it in 2023 and 2024, respectively. But it’s happened only five times in the last 63 years.

    And never to Harper. Well, not since college.

    “Super Regionals,” he said. “Seven-for-seven, four homers and a cycle.”

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    Where does a cycle rank for a two-time MVP with 379 career homers?

    “It’s up there,” he said. “Doing that at the big-league level is really cool.”

    And it makes you wonder what Schwarber and Harper could possibly have in store for an All-Star encore. Neither will commit to the Home Run Derby until they know if they’ll be named to the All-Star team.

    But, really, is there any doubt?

    “A crowd like [Saturday] shows you how electric it’s going to be, for not only that [Home Run Derby] night but the whole week in general,” Schwarber said. “I think it’ll be really special to have the All-Star Game here in Philly, and our fans are going to be able to show up for that.”

    The Phillies’ biggest stars just gave everyone one heck of a preview.

  • Phillies weighing options to fill Andrew Painter’s spot in starting rotation; Trea Turner returns to lineup

    Phillies weighing options to fill Andrew Painter’s spot in starting rotation; Trea Turner returns to lineup

    Andrew Painter has reported to Lehigh Valley, where he will work to improve a fastball that hasn’t overpowered many major-league hitters.

    The Phillies aren’t sure how long it will take.

    “We haven’t put a timetable on it,“ general manager Preston Mattingly said on The Inquirer’s Phillies Extra podcast. “It’s TBD at this point when he comes back. But I think we all know as an organization that we’re going to need him.”

    OK, but in the meantime, the Phillies must fill Painter’s spot. They don’t have many options. Starting pitching depth has been a concern since the offseason. It isn’t an organizational strength.

    The Phillies still need a right-handed bat. Let’s take an early dive into some options before the trade deadline.

    But before the Phillies settle the fifth-starter question, they will slightly rearrange the rotation beyond co-aces Cristopher Sánchez and Zack Wheeler. Jesús Luzardo will move back one day to avoid overtaxing the bullpen by splitting up Painter’s spot and Aaron Nola.

    So, after Wheeler starts at home Sunday night against the Mets, the rotation will shape up like this for the upcoming series in Washington: Monday: No. 5 starter; Tuesday: Luzardo; Wednesday: Nola; Thursday: Sánchez.

    As for who will take the fifth (spot), the Phillies seem to have three choices:

    Bryse Wilson: Called up to fill Painter’s roster spot, Wilson threw 29 pitches in two scoreless innings of relief Thursday night against the Mets, which would line him up to start on short rest. The 28-year-old righty had a 6.29 ERA in triple A but also hadn’t allowed a run in 12 innings in his last three starts. He has appeared in 164 major-league games, including 57 starts.

    Alan Rangel is a candidate to join the Phillies’ starting rotation next week.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer

    Alan Rangel: Despite occasionally spotty command (27 walks in 70 innings), Rangel has been Lehigh Valley’s most consistent starter. He has a 3.99 ERA in 14 games (11 starts) and would be on regular rest Monday.

    Bullpen game/opener: The Phillies have more depth in the bullpen. Interim manager Don Mattingly said he isn’t inclined to pass the baton from reliever to reliever for nine innings. But the Phillies could use an opener before turning to a bulk pitcher, possibly Wilson or Rangel.

    “I don’t know about bullpen-heavy, but obviously there will be usage,” Mattingly said. “There’s no plan to just go two innings and then try to do the whole thing with a bullpen. It won’t be that kind of game. We’ll definitely have bulk in there.”

    The fifth spot in the rotation will come around four times before the All-Star break. Painter isn’t expected back until after the second half opens. He will throw multiple bullpen sessions before making his first start for Lehigh Valley, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said.

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    Painter has a 7.06 ERA and a 1-8 record (the Phillies are 3-9 in his starts). Opponents are batting .404 and slugging .660 against his fastball.

    The Phillies believe it stems mostly from his delivery. He tends to over-rotate toward the first-base side of the mound, rather than striding directly toward home plate, which has affected his ability to command the fastball.

    “Most of it is delivery-oriented,” Dombrowski said. “Because he’s done some things with his delivery, just going more directly to the plate rather than spinning off. He’s had more life, and you see it at times. He threw some pitches that were outstanding but not on a consistent basis.

    “So, the feeling is that when he does that, when he gives that effort going forward, his ball’s got more movement. He’s got more command of his pitches.”

    Trea Turner is back in the lineup after suffering a bruised right calf on Thursday.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer

    Trea bien

    Trea Turner returned to the lineup Saturday — in his familiar leadoff spot — after leaving Thursday night’s game with a bruised right calf. He got hit by a pitch from Mets lefty Sean Manaea in the first inning.

    When Turner reported soreness and tightness, Mattingly took him out of the game. But after a day off Friday, Turner felt better.

    “For me, the biggest danger with that is him running differently, and then we’re into a hamstring or a hip [injury] or something like that,” Mattingly said. “So, wanted to make sure that he can run. That was his biggest issue, just pushing off. The off-day did him well.”

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    Extra bases

    Lefty reliever Kyle Backhus (elbow) was scheduled to make his fifth injury rehab appearance for Lehigh Valley. The Phillies likely will reinstate him from the injured list early next week. Backhus could fill an important role in the bullpen, with lefty José Alvarado struggling and Tanner Banks getting sent back to the minors. … Gage Wood update: The Phillies’ top prospect has a 3.71 ERA, 25 strikeouts, and only five walks in 17 innings over five starts since his promotion to double A. … Wheeler (6-1, 2.01 ERA) will be opposed Sunday night by Mets lefty David Peterson (3-5, 5.91).

  • For the Phillies, it still comes down to Trea Turner

    For the Phillies, it still comes down to Trea Turner

    The Phillies entered the season as a team whose fate would be determined mostly by how little went wrong. That’s somewhat true for most teams, but it is especially true for a team that basically skipped a development cycle while building and retaining a roster via trades, free agency and contract extensions.

    In Major League Baseball, there are three main sources of year-to-year improvement.

    • External additions via free agency and trade.
    • Internal additions from the minor league system.
    • Internal improvement from young players who have yet to reach their peak.

    Every now and then, you’ll see a mid-career bump by a player like Cristopher Sánchez or Brandon Marsh. For the most part, though, a team’s upside is a function of its young potential breakout candidates combined with whatever payroll it adds. Otherwise, what you end up seeing will look a lot like what you’ve previously gotten, along with whatever regression occurs.

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    That tracks, right?

    Nearly halfway through the schedule, the Phillies are exactly what you’d expect to get if you took last year’s team and subbed in a leadoff hitter who is batting .223/.276/.334 instead of .304/.355/.457. Marsh’s quasi-breakout has given them enough margin for error to withstand the rookie inconsistency they’ve seen from Justin Crawford and Andrew Painter at the bottom of the lineup and the rotation. But something dramatic is going to need to change for the Phillies to stop yo-yoing back and forth between .500 and a 90-win pace. Right now, the most likely something is the aforementioned leadoff hitter.

    Trea Turner is the man with the keys to the Phillies’ offense for the rest of the season. That’s really all there is to it. You can talk about the trade deadline, talk about the pitcher Painter was supposed to be, talk about the 31-16 record under Don Mattingly … all of it is noise. The Phillies simply aren’t a team that is capable of winning 95 games when one of their megacontract hitters isn’t hitting even half his worth.

    Phillies shortstop Trea Turner entered the weekend with a .610 OPS. His career mark is .816.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer

    Mattingly knows this. It’s the reason for the patience he continues to exhibit with Turner at the top of the lineup. Getting him right is the Phillies’ only hope at making a late charge at the Braves. That 31-16 record since Rob Thomson’s firing is glitter more than gold. Seven of those wins came against teams that are 12-plus games under .500. Another seven have come against the Marlins and Athletics. The Phillies are 5-7 against their four opponents who entered Thursday at least four games over .500. Series losses to the Brewers, Dodgers, and Guardians. Their 96-win pace over the last month is more representative than 113.

    Even 96 wins is overstating things. We got a little taste of what a 96-win offense looks like a couple of days ago when Turner was out of the lineup with a sore wrist. Mattingly seized the opportunity to get a little funky with his lineup. The hot-hitting Marsh took the place of Turner in the leadoff spot, giving the Phillies three straight lefties at the top of the order with Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper following Marsh.

    Mattingly’s lack of regard for convention paid dividends. Marsh reached base twice, scored two runs, and had two RBIs, which is something Turner has not done since last August. The top three hitters in the Phillies’ order combined to reach base six times and score five runs in an 8-2 win. Sometimes, different is good.

    The next day, Mattingly went back to the old drawing board. Turner went 3-for-5 with a double, his first three-hit game since May 9. It needs to be the start of something, although he left Thursday’s game after again being hit by a pitch.

    Turner is the reason everybody thinks the Phillies need to make a big splash at the trade deadline. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski will be hard-pressed to find a hitter who would be more of an improvement than the Turner of last year returning. If he doesn’t, 87 wins is as good as it is going to get.

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    The Phillies don’t have many other pathways. They are long on veterans and short on potential upside. It is a daunting position to be in at this stage of a season.

    Look at the teams that overperform their expectations and you’ll find that the differentiator is almost always someone who is at the stage of his career where improvement comes in leaps and bounds. Drake Baldwin will continue to improve for the Braves. Same goes for Andy Pages and Dalton Rushing with the Dodgers. Ben Rice with the Yankees. For all the hand-wringing about the Dodgers and their limitless payroll, they’ve also had five rookies hit 19-plus home runs since 2013.

    The Phillies don’t have any obvious candidates right now. Harper and Schwarber have been about as good as you could hope. Alec Bohm, Bryson Stott, and J.T. Realmuto have been about what you’d expect. Turner’s is the one spot in the lineup where the potential for significant improvement exists. At least, they better hope it still exists.

  • Phillies’ Trea Turner exits game vs. Mets after being hit by pitch

    Phillies’ Trea Turner exits game vs. Mets after being hit by pitch

    For the second time this week, Trea Turner left a game early after being hit by a pitch.

    The Phillies shortstop departed Thursday’s 6-4 loss to the Mets with a bruised right calf after taking a 79.2 mph sweeper off the leg from Sean Manaea in the first inning. Turner remained in the game initially as a baserunner, scoring a run, but was replaced at shortstop by Edmundo Sosa in the third inning.

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    Sosa switched from left field, where he had started the game. Justin Crawford entered the game in center, sliding Derek Hill to right field and Brandon Marsh to left.

    “Got hit in a tough spot, right above the bottom of the calf towards the bottom, where he starts getting into the Achilles,” interim manager Don Mattingly said. “He was having trouble putting pressure, pushing off. … He said he was having trouble on defense, felt like he was a liability on defense, so he couldn’t really move. Day off [Friday], hopefully it’ll be good by the night game [Saturday]. We’ll see.”

    Turner exited Monday’s game against the Marlins with a bruised right wrist after getting drilled with a fastball, and sat out on Tuesday as it was still inflamed.

    In his return to the lineup Wednesday, Turner finished with three hits, and said he felt like he was “on a good track” at the plate.

  • Andrew Painter has reached his Roy Halladay moment. It is on him to seize it.

    Andrew Painter has reached his Roy Halladay moment. It is on him to seize it.

    Somebody needs to tell Andrew Painter to remember one number.

    10.64

    He needs to say it out loud until it is ingrained in his memory, then he needs to take that memory with him.

    Ten-point-six-four.

    He needs to carry it, to own it, to believe in it. All the way down to Allentown and then to wherever his career takes him next. Buy a notebook, maybe. That’s what Roy Halladay did. Halladay knew that number better than anybody. He felt it. He owned it, rather than letting it own him.

    After his latest rough start, can Andrew Painter keep pitching for the Phillies?

    That number — 10.64 — was Halladay’s ERA in 67⅔ innings as a 23-year-old big leaguer. It is nearly three runs higher than the ERA that just earned Painter a demotion to triple-A Lehigh Valley after allowing six runs in two innings of the Phillies’ 12-4 loss to the Marlins on Wednesday. Halladay ended up spending his 24th birthday facing class-A minor league hitters in Dunedin, Fla. As the old saying goes: It’s not how far you fall, it’s how high you bounce.

    Painter is 25 days older than Halladay was when he lost his spot in the Blue Jays’ rotation in 2000. He is nearly a full year younger than Halladay was when he began the process of reinventing himself, both mechanically and mentally. It is a shame that Halladay is no longer around. He almost certainly would have shared all of this with Painter personally.

    Failing is easy. The hard work is what comes next. It’s an endeavor upon which Painter must embark. The 65 innings he has logged as a major leaguer offer plenty from which to learn. They have told him that his fastball will not play in its current form, whether he grips it with four seams or two. Against the Marlins on Wednesday, Painter threw just 19 of them on 56 pitches. Ten of those fastballs prompted swings. None of them were whiffs.

    Unlike a lot of young pitchers, Painter’s issues are not related to control. Heading into Wednesday, he was walking an average of 3.1 batters per nine innings, against 7.1 strikeouts. The big issue is the contact, a lot of it loud. The two-run home run he allowed to Kyle Stowers in the first inning was his 13th in the last 49⅔ innings. It is an unsustainable pace, grotesquely so. The Phillies had no other choice even without better options.

    You aren’t going to win many games when your starter lasts only two innings, allowed eight of 14 batters to reach base, and allows six of those eight batters to score. By the end, the Phillies had used six relievers, two of whom threw 26-plus pitches. That didn’t include backup catcher Garrett Stubbs, the human white flag. He was one of two pitchers who didn’t allow a run.

    Trea Turner slams his bat down after striking out in the sixth inning.
    Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer

    It was not a fun afternoon, especially for Don Mattingly. The Phillies interim manager got a good look at two of the biggest reasons his team may be destined to spend the rest of the season attempting to yo-yo away from .500 and toward 90 wins. It is very hard to break off a long winning streak when you have holes at the top of your lineup and the back of your rotation. In Painter and Trea Turner, the Phillies had both. Now, they have one.

    On Wednesday, Mattingly went back to the old drawing board with Turner, his struggling leadoff hitter. Turner went 3-for-5 with a double, his first three-hit game since May 9. The Phillies desperately need it to be the start of something.

    Trea Turner gets ‘on a good track’ with three hits in return to the Phillies lineup

    With Painter in the minors and no obvious replacement, the onus will fall even more squarely on Turner. He entered the day with a brutal .595 OPS. He has a lot more work to do to reestablish a rightful claim as a set-it-and-forget-it leadoff man. Mattingly can’t afford to be too patient, especially given the aftertaste of success from Tuesday’s experiment with Brandon Marsh in the one-hole.

    If the manager’s latest exhibition of patience doesn’t result in a serious heater from Turner, he shouldn’t hesitate to climb back outside of the box and see what happens with Marsh setting the table. Three consecutive lefty-on-lefty matchups for an opposing bullpen isn’t ideal, but it can be better than anybody-on-Turner. I don’t know if that counts as a real solution. After all, Turner still has to hit somewhere.

    It has been an unfortunate season for 24-year-old 40-man roster member Jean Cabrera, who has a 9.39 ERA in 13 starts between triple A and double A. Gage Wood, last year’s first-rounder, has pitched well in Reading. But a big-league promotion is a bit ambitious. The more realistic answer is to patch it together the way the Phillies did for much of 2024 and 2025.

    Andrew Painter gave up six earned runs on six hits, including two home runs, in two innings against the Marlins on Wednesday.
    Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer

    The bigger concern is Painter’s future. The Phillies have clung to the hope of him for four years now. He has shown plenty to justify the belief. He was brilliant in his debut, more than adequate in his next two. He logged back-to-back quality starts as recently as late May. He has not recorded more than four strikeouts in any of his last eight starts. But the fastball is a problem, and he must figure it out. The velocity isn’t there like it was in his peak prospect days. But 94-96 mph is not a bad baseline.

    Can it be fixed? If it can, it wasn’t going to happen at the major league level. With the All-Star break drawing near and Painter probably needing some form of workload management in his first big league season, it was hard to make an argument for keeping him in the majors. A lot of what comes next comes down to Painter. Responding to failure isn’t easy. But it is a personal choice.

  • Trea Turner gets ‘on a good track’ with three hits in return to the Phillies lineup

    Trea Turner gets ‘on a good track’ with three hits in return to the Phillies lineup

    Trea Turner didn’t waste any time in his return to the Phillies lineup.

    The shortstop sat out Tuesday’s game with a bruised wrist after getting hit by a fastball the day prior. But once the swelling went down, he was back in the lineup on Wednesday — and was back atop the order for the first time since May 25.

    Turner singled to lead off the first inning against Marlins starter Sandy Alcantara and then picked up two more hits, including a double, to finish 3-for-5 in the 12-4 loss. It marked his first game with at least three hits since May 9.

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    For the past three weeks, Kyle Schwarber has been leading off for the Phillies, and interim manager Don Mattingly even used Brandon Marsh in the No. 1 spot for a one-game experiment on Tuesday. But Mattingly said he always planned for Turner to return to being his long-term leadoff hitter because of his base-stealing ability.

    “He’s able to run up there,” Mattingly said. “He gets behind Schwarb, and he’s on, he’s not able to run. Always wanted him there.”

    Turner’s three hits on Wednesday raised his season batting average to .233, and he also stole his 15th base of the season. There’s still work to be done for him to dig out of this slump, but he saw positive signs on Wednesday.

    “I think I did a lot of good things today from my standpoint, just kind of competing, and two-strike hitting,” Turner said. “Fouled off some pitches I probably would’ve swung and missed at, and I feel like I was doing what I wanted up there. I felt like real positive individually today from just my at-bats standpoint, and felt like I’m on a good track.”

    Phillies pitcher Jesús Luzardo allowed two runs in seven innings in an 8-2 victory over the Marlins on Tuesday.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer

    Luzardo’s splits

    Jesús Luzardo describes himself as a “creature of habit.”

    A lot of it is because of superstition. The glasses Luzardo wears on the mound don’t actually correct his vision, but he wears them because in the past, he didn’t pitch well without them.

    The lefty is strict about his routines, so he would know better than anyone if there was an underlying change causing the discrepancy in his home and road splits.

    And this year, the difference between the numbers has been stark: he has a 1.55 ERA in seven road starts, compared to a 6.60 ERA in eight starts at Citizens Bank Park. His strikeout and walk numbers are around the same, but the contact that Luzardo has given up has been much harder at home. Of the nine homers he’s allowed this season, eight were at home.

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    Luzardo doesn’t have an explanation for it.

    “I just really think it’s a coincidence,” Luzardo said. “It’s unfortunate, obviously. No one wants to pitch bad, especially at home, but the routine stays the same.”

    Luzardo was slightly better on the road in 2025, his first season as a Phillie. He posted a 3.67 ERA in 16 away games compared to 4.16 in 16 home games. But the difference has never been this extreme.

    Luzardo hopes the start he made at home Tuesday, when he held the Marlins to two runs over seven innings, could be the beginning of a new trend.

    “Obviously, I know I can do it,” he said. “I felt really good. So, hopefully, just keep building on that.”

    Brandon Marsh is third among National League outfielders in All-Star voting.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer

    Marsh on All-Star vote

    MLB released its first voting update for the 2026 All-Star Game, and Brandon Marsh is on track to make it to the next phase.

    Marsh, who entered Wednesday with a .327 batting average, good for third in baseball, accumulated 668,191 votes as of June 15. That places him third among National League outfielders, behind the Dodgers’ Andy Pages (800,496) and the Braves’ Ronald Acuña Jr. (693,472).

    Once Phase 1 of voting concludes on June 25, the top two position players and top six outfielders in each league will advance to the second round. After Phase 2, the top position player and top three outfielders will be named starters.

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    If his trajectory holds, Marsh will be an All-Star for the first time in his career. He said last week that it would be “really, really cool” to be included in the group, especially at home in Philadelphia. But for now, he isn’t paying much attention to the voting.

    “I really haven’t even looked at it, to be honest with you,” Marsh said. “Really, just trying to enjoy now, and just take it day by day, and see where it all falls out at the end.”

    Extra bases

    Aaron Nola (3-4, 5.86 ERA) is scheduled to start Thursday’s series opener against the Mets’ Sean Manaea (1-2, 4.78 ERA). It marks the Phillies’ first meeting against the Mets this season. … Shane Victorino and Larry Bowa will serve as managers for the All-Star Futures Game on July 12 at Citizens Bank Park, Major League Baseball announced Wednesday.

  • Phillies place Brad Keller on injured list; Kyle Schwarber started at first base

    Phillies place Brad Keller on injured list; Kyle Schwarber started at first base

    Phillies reliever Brad Keller was placed on the injured list with right forearm tendinitis, the team announced Tuesday.

    The move is retroactive to Sunday. Keller has a 4.15 ERA in 31 appearances for the Phillies and is 3-for-4 in save opportunities. Interim manager Don Mattingly has used the right-hander in a high-leverage role this season, often as a setup for closer Jhoan Duran. The bulk of Keller’s appearances have come in the eighth inning.

    In his last outing in Milwaukee on Saturday, Keller allowed three runs to score in the eighth on three singles, two walks, and a wild pitch.

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    “He’d been having little stuff going on, and it kind of continued, and it was something that we felt like we’re better off knocking it out right now, and not letting it get too far,” Mattingly said. “We feel good about him and we’re looking more long game with him, make sure that he’s going to be available as we go forward.”

    Mattingly added that Keller will get imaging done, since that is a usual part of the process, but the Phillies do not expect it to reveal a major injury.

    “Just probably inflammation and stuff like that,” Mattingly said. “But it is something that we know has been nagging. … We don’t need any heroes right now. Into September or something, and guys want to push through, you’ll allow it, but right now we don’t want that.”

    In a corresponding move, Max Lazar was recalled from triple-A Lehigh Valley to join the Phillies bullpen. Lazar started the season on the injured list after suffering an oblique injury during the World Baseball Classic. He has a 3.86 ERA in 11 appearances for the IronPigs this year.

    Kyle Schwarber played first base on Tuesday to allow Bryce Harper to be the designated hitter.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer

    Marsh leading off; Schwarber at first

    The Phillies lineup for Tuesday’s game against the Marlins had a few twists.

    Brandon Marsh was leading off against former Phillie Tyler Phillips, his first time starting a game atop the order since 2022.

    Kyle Schwarber, hitting second in the order, started a game at first base for the first time since 2021. He had previously played an inning at first late in a blowout loss to the A’s in May, after Mattingly emptied the bench.

    Trea Turner, who was hit by a pitch in the sixth inning Monday and later exited, was out of the lineup but is feeling better, according to Mattingly.

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    Schwarber started at first base on Tuesday to allow Bryce Harper to move to designated hitter and take a day off from defense, Mattingly said.

    “Him being on the field like 10, 12 times a year has been in the works. He does work there occasionally,” Mattingly said. “We’re not going to kill him anywhere, but he handles himself all right out there. But we have to be able to do it some to be able to get Harp off his feet. This is kind of the week that we’re a little dinged up in the infield. … Just trying to give everybody a day, the guys that are kind of in there every day, before the extra off day coming.”

    Mattingly, a nine-time Gold Glove winner at first base, is confident in Schwarber’s ability to adjust to the position.

    “These guys have played their whole life, and I know we’re putting them in positions that aren’t really what they do, and you don’t want to do that all the time, but these guys are baseball players,” Mattingly said.

    “They’ve been the best athletes on their teams from the time they were 8 years old, probably. So, him going out there, he’s probably going to have fun out there.”

    The Marsh-Schwarber-Harper configuration stacks three lefties at the top of the Phillies order, which Mattingly felt comfortable doing because of their production against left-handed pitchers this season.

    “Harp handles lefties, Schwarb handles them, Brandon’s been good with them,” Mattingly said. “They’re playing every day anyway. So this was one of those things that, today, felt OK.”

    Trea Turner took a pitch off his right wrist on Monday.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer

    Turner expected to return Wednesday

    Turner’s bruised right wrist felt better Tuesday, Mattingly said, though he was still sore and stiff.

    The Phillies shortstop was in the midst of a deep slump before he was hit by a fastball in the sixth inning on Monday.

    Over his last seven games, Turner is 3-for-29 with 10 strikeouts and just one walk. His batting average has dropped to .216. In addition to helping him rest his wrist, Mattingly hopes a day off could help Turner reset at the plate.

    “I think obviously getting off your feet, when you play every day, getting off your feet always helps a little bit,” Mattingly said. “I mean, I don’t know if we’re talking like he’s going to get hot or anything like that, but days off are good now and then.”

    Extra bases

    Right-handed pitcher Jackson Rutledge, who was designated for assignment by the Phillies on June 11, was released. … Andrew Painter (1-7, 6.43 ERA) is scheduled to start Wednesday’s series finale against Marlins right-hander Sandy Alcantara (6-4, 4.25).

  • Don Mattingly sticking with slumping Trea Turner in the Phillies lineup: ‘He’s always hit’

    Don Mattingly sticking with slumping Trea Turner in the Phillies lineup: ‘He’s always hit’

    When the Phillies posted their lineup card ahead of Monday’s series opener against the Marlins, Trea Turner’s name was where it has been for the past few weeks: second in the order.

    Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly said he didn’t consider giving Turner some time off as he’s continued to struggle at the plate. Turner was already slumping before the Phillies departed for their 3-3 road trip to Toronto and Milwaukee, but a 3-for-26 trip lowered his average to .219 and his OPS to .598 on the season.

    Turner, who won the batting title in 2025 with a .304 average, has a 23% strikeout rate and 27.8% whiff rate this year. But Mattingly is steadfast that things will turn around.

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    “Because it’s Trea. He’s always hit,” Mattingly said. “It’s what we talked about earlier in the year with [Alec Bohm], when everybody was ready to bench him, not ever play him again. Guys who hit, hit. He’s a great player, and he’s going to be a great player for us.”

    A few days off did work for Bohm’s own struggles this season. He had a two-day reset in May after his batting average dropped to .159 and then he hit two homers in the game immediately after. In the 32 games since then, Bohm has a .281/.326/.504 slash line.

    Bohm was out of the lineup on Monday because he was a little “banged up,” according to Mattingly, who added that he was still healthy and should be back Tuesday. Edmundo Sosa started at third base in his place.

    Alec Bohm benefited from his two-day “reset” in May.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer

    “He was just kind of gathering nicks and bruises as that road trip went on, a little bit in the hammy, a little bit in the hip, a little bit in the shoulder,” Mattingly said. “So I just wanted to give him a day, a chance to recover.”

    Mattingly also said he hasn’t considered moving Turner further down in the batting order from the No. 2 spot.

    “Not at this point. If it gets to that point, then [I’d] consider anything that’s going to help us win,” Mattingly said. “Everybody, all of a sudden, is talking about Trea today, but when we don’t score, Trea’s not the only reason when things like that happen. Trea’s a big piece of what we are, what we’re going to be, and if we’re getting really successful, we’re going to need Trea. So for me, I’m not giving up on Trea, I’m not moving him right now. It’s just the way I feel about it.

    “ … I want to show confidence because I feel confidence. I wouldn’t say the things I say if I didn’t feel confident that Trea was going to find it, and be swinging more consistently and better as we go through the season.”

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    Still monitoring Marchán

    Phillies backup catcher Rafael Marchán has not been diagnosed with a concussion after he took a foul ball off the mask on Sunday in Milwaukee, Mattingly said. But the Phillies are still monitoring him.

    “The update’s been good, and that we’ll continue to keep an eye on him,” Mattingly said. “I guess things can happen a couple days later, too, so we’ll keep an eye on him. But at this point the doctors have checked him out, he’s been through everything, and he’s good to go. ”

    Extra bases

    Left-handed reliever Kyle Backhus (left elbow inflammation) pitched one-third of an inning Sunday for triple-A Lehigh Valley for his rehab assignment. He entered with two inherited runners, walked a batter, and then struck out the next batter to end the inning. Backhus is next scheduled to pitch for the IronPigs Wednesday, and the Phillies plan to start building multiple innings. “He’s doing good, everything’s going in the right direction for him,” Mattingly said. … Outfielder Steward Berroa returned from the paternity list on Monday and was optioned to Lehigh Valley, the Phillies announced. … Jesús Luzardo (5-4, 4.35 ERA) is scheduled to start Tuesday against Marlins right-hander and Bishop Eustace product Tyler Phillips (1-1, 1.86), a former Phillie.