Phillies scratch Josh Harrison; injury updates on Ranger Suarez, Andrew Painter
Harrison scratched; injury updates on Suarez, Painter originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
NEW YORK -- Bryson Stott was not initially in the Phillies' lineup Monday night for their series opener at Yankee Stadium but ended up starting anyway.
Utilityman Josh Harrison, slated to start at second base, was scratched an hour before game time with a mild right ankle sprain. He is day-to-day.
Stott was one of four left-handed hitters in the Phillies' batting order against Yankees lefty Nestor Cortes, an unusual lineup structure for manager Rob Thomson. On Sunday night against southpaw Martín Perez, Kyle Schwarber and Stott were the only starting left-handed hitters.
The Phillies are trying to find the right mix against lefties and this is where the loss of Rhys Hoskins is felt the most. With a healthy Hoskins at first base, the Phillies could have started Edmundo Sosa at third base and used Alec Bohm as the primary DH. They could have even potentially tried Sosa in center field in place of Marsh. Sosa played center throughout spring training and there were some growing pains but he was far from a disaster.
The Phils have no choice now but to use some of their left-handed hitters against lefty starters. Marsh has a career .530 OPS against lefties. Hall was just 1 for 14 against them in his big-league career entering Monday night. Stott has held his own, hitting .282 with a .784 OPS vs. lefties compared to .227 with a .625 OPS against righties.
For Marsh, the ability to hit left-handed pitching is the only barrier between being a solidified everyday major-league starter and not. He said in spring training that success with same-handed pitching is his No. 1 goal this season.
The Phillies are set to face another left-handed starter Thursday in the home opener, Cincinnati's Nick Lodolo. They'll see another in the following series, Miami's Jesus Luzardo.
Rotation updates
There was positive news on Ranger Suarez, who felt good after a bullpen session this weekend. The Phillies are encouraged, Thomson said Monday afternoon.
Suarez (elbow) will throw another bullpen session Wednesday. If he comes away from it feeling well, the Phillies will figure out his next step, which could be a minor-league rehab assignment. Suarez has not appeared in an actual game since March 8 when Team Venezuela faced the Houston Astros in a warm-up game prior to the World Baseball Classic.
Matt Strahm will start in the No. 5 spot Tuesday night but the Phillies are not committing to him in the rotation beyond that start as they await news on Suarez. The Phillies have a limit of about 65 pitches on Strahm, a reliever who hasn't started since 2019, excluding one "opener" appearance in 2021.
Andrew Painter is also dealing with an elbow injury, one he is trying to rehab with rest rather than surgery. The Phillies said the first week of March that Painter would not pick up a ball until at least the first few days of April. That still has not happened yet; he's been limited to plyometric work.
