How Phillies will handle Rojas-Marsh dynamic in CF during long stretch vs. RHP
Rob Thomson pulled Johan Rojas and Brandon Marsh into his office Tuesday night to go over the plan in center field for the next week-plus.
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How Phillies will handle Rojas-Marsh dynamic in CF during long stretch vs. RHP originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
TAMPA, Fla. — Rob Thomson pulled Johan Rojas and Brandon Marsh into his office Tuesday night to go over the plan for the next week-plus.
Tuesday’s series opener at Steinbrenner Field was the first of a nine-game stretch in which the Phillies were scheduled to face a right-handed starting pitcher but Rojas is still going to get his chances in center field. He was in the lineup Wednesday night against right-hander Shane Baz.
“I went over the next six to nine days because they’re both playing well, both swinging the bat well, I don’t want either one of them to get rusty,” Thomson said. “We sort of planned it out over the next nine days who’s playing.”
The Phillies will likely alternate between the lefty-hitting Marsh and right-handed Rojas this week and start Rojas against the next lefty opponent, St. Louis Matthew Liberatore at home on Monday. The next lefty on the calendar after that is Pittsburgh’s Andrew Heaney next Friday.
“It’s going to be back and forth a bit and then towards the end of this nine-day run, there’s a back-to-back for Rojas and then a back-to-back for Marsh,” Thomson said.
Rojas is hitting .302 with a .343 on-base percentage in 71 plate appearances. In his last five starts, he’s 6-for-14 with a triple, homer and three RBI.
Marsh is 3-for-7 with a double and a walk in three games since returning from a two-week stint on the injured list. He had been held hitless in 38 straight plate appearances before straining his hamstring in mid-April.
The long run of right-handed opponents will also temporarily limit the playing time of Edmundo Sosa with Bryson Stott, Trea Turner and Alec Bohm all producing.
Bohm has hit safely in 16 of his last 20 games, batting .310 with a .359 OBP over that span. Turner has hit .391 with a .443 OBP in his last 15.
“I’d like to find a way (to play Sosa),” Thomson said. “Stott saw 24 pitches last night in the leadoff spot and hit two balls right on the nose, almost hit a home run to center field. Bohm hit a home run, he’s on a bit of a streak here, and Trea seems like he’s getting a base hit every night. It’s tough to fit him in but I’d really like to.”
