Thomson tinkers Phillies' lineup for series finale vs. Yankees originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
NEW YORK — A little bit of a funky lineup thrown out by manager Rob Thomson for the series finale against the Yankees on Sunday. Funky not because of injuries, though that could have been in play. More like it just being a game number 105 lineup.
Trea Turner will be the designated hitter, while still leading off. Kyle Schwarber is going to be playing left field. Both Nick Castellanos and Edmundo Sosa are back after getting dinged through the weekend. Castellanos is back in right field after missing Saturday’s game due to a jammed knee that he tweaked on the last play Friday night. Sosa is at shortstop a day after leaving the game with a back contusion following a collision with Brandon Marsh. Otto Kemp is at third and Weston Wilson at second as the Phillies look for the sweep in Yankee Stadium.
“Give him a half day off,” Thomson said of Turner. “He’s been running around a lot, he’s been on base, doing all that stuff.”
In the first two games of the series, Turner went 6-for-11 with two doubles, a triple and five runs scored.
On Saturday, Thomson labeled Castellanos as day-to-day and some sprinting before the game determined he was ready to go. Though he left the game in the seventh inning in obvious pain on Saturday, Sosa said after the game that he was going to be ready to play, and he was.
With Zack Wheeler on the mound Sunday, is it easier for the manager to tinker with the lineup a little bit?
“I guess it could be but I don’t think of it that way,” Thomson said. “I just try to give guys rest when we can, like in Turner’s case today give him a half day, but it’s also about the matchup with the opposing pitcher.
“We have a lot of versatility with a club with Sosa and Kemp and Wilson. It’s good to have.”
Hall of Fame Day
The baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremonies in Cooperstown Sunday welcome a class that includes Dick Allen, Daver Parker, CC Sabathia, Ichiro Suzuki and Billy Wagner. During his time with the Yankees as a coach, Thomson remembers going against former Phillie Wagner and having Sabathia and Suzuki as players in New York:
“It’s a big day, you know. It’s quite an accomplishment. At the time we had him, CC was one of the best pitchers in baseball. He’s like Wheeler, you hand him the ball and figure you’re getting seven (innings). You’re a little bit surprised when you don’t. When we got Ichiro we had talked to him before the trade and said ‘We’re probably going to platoon you and play against right-handed pitching and probably hit down in the order.’ Within a week he was playing every day and hitting at the top of the order. He’s just a great player and a great guy, too. And very funny.”
Sabathia spent 11 of his 19 years with the Yankees and won 134 games with them while compiling a 3.81 ERA. Ichiro joined the Yankees at 38 years old and played three seasons. He hit .322 his first season with them.
No waggle here
Sometimes just the slightest of adjustments in sports can make a world of difference. For Phillies second baseman Bryson Stott, less waggle seems to mean better contact.
The Phillies coaching staff noticed that Stott was moving his hands and bat, waggling, if you will, before the pitcher was throwing the ball and it wasn’t allowing his bat to square up to the ball most times. So hitting coach Kevin Long and others made the suggestion that Stott rest the bat on his shoulder until the pitcher is ready to throw. Then it’s time for lock and load.
“I think he’s had good at-bats,” Thomson said. “Like I’ve been saying, it feels like he knows where the barrel is now. He’s using the field and he’s also getting the head out when he needs to, so it’s good. I think he’s had it (the waggle) for a while but now it was sort of getting in the way of the process so we just tried to calm it down a little bit. So far so good.”
