Phillies' Michael Lorenzen: Dominant in Phillies debut
Rotowire
Lorenzen (1-0) earned the win Thursday, allowing two runs on six hits and one walk over eight innings against the Marlins. He struck out five.
Lorenzen was terrific in his Phillies debut, holding the Marlins to just two runs over a season-high eight innings of work. The newly acquired right-hander retired 10 consecutive batters after giving up his first run, before then allowing a solo home run off the bat of Bryan De La Cruz. Lorenzen has now conceded two runs or fewer in six of his last eight starts, while the home run he allowed Thursday was the first he's given up since June 25.
Rojas is not in Thursday's lineup against the Marlins.
Rojas had started four games in a row, two against righties and two against lefties, before heading to the bench for this one. He is hitting .235 with two doubles, zero home runs, one steal and seven strikeouts in his last five games. Jake Cave draws the start in his place.
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Phillies' Trea Turner: Hitting eighth Thursday
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Turner is hitting eighth Thursday against the Marlins.
He hit seventh in the lineup July 29, and had hit sixth in the lineup the past three games, but this represents a new low for Turner. The big-ticket free agent signee is slashing .238/.303/.369 with five home runs and 14 steals in 52 games since June 1.
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Phillies' J.T. Realmuto: Returns Thursday
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Realmuto (hand) is batting sixth and starting behind the plate Thursday against the Marlins.
He was scratched from Tuesday's lineup with a cut on his hand and was also held out Wednesday. Realmuto is hitting .240 with four home runs, 14 runs, 14 RBI and two steals in his last 75 at-bats.
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Phillies' Bryson Stott: Snags steal No. 20
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Stott went 3-for-5 with a walk, a double, a run scored, an RBI and a stolen base in Wednesday's 9-8 extra-innings loss to the Marlins.
The 25-year-old infielder has been locked in since the All-Star break, slashing .313/.373/.493 in 18 games with six doubles, two homers, four steals, six RBI and 13 runs. Stott has reached 20 steals on the year for the first time in his career as he solidifies his spot as a strong complementary piece in the Phillies' offense.
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Phillies' Craig Kimbrel: Blows second save
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Kimbrel blew the save in the 10th inning Wednesday during the Phillies' 9-8 loss to the Marlins, giving up two runs (one earned) on two hits.
Kimbrel was far from the only Philadelphia reliever to have trouble putting Miami away after Zack Wheeler exited with a 5-2 lead, as the Phillies' bullpen collectively coughed up seven runs in five-plus innings. Both of Kimbrel's blown saves on the season have come since the All-Star break, and over his last 10 innings he has a tepid 8:4 K:BB despite a superficially strong 2.70 ERA and 1.00 WHIP. Gregory Soto got the nod in the ninth inning Wednesday and was also charged with a blown save, and he could keep working his way into the closer mix as long as Kimbrel continues to show signs of fading.
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Phillies' Zack Wheeler: Settles for quality start
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Wheeler came away with a no-decision Wednesday in the Phillies' 9-8 extra-innings loss to the Marlins, giving up two runs on five hits and a walk over six innings. He struck out four.
The right-hander blanked Miami for five frames before fading in the sixth and serving up back-to-back homers to Josh Bell and Jazz Chisholm, but Wheeler still left the mound with his team up 5-2. A disastrous group effort by the Philly bullpen ensured he wouldn't collect his ninth win of the season, however. Wheeler has reeled off five straight quality starts, posting a 2.76 ERA, 0.86 WHIP and dazzling 37:3 K:BB through 32.2 innings over that stretch, but he's gone only 1-1 thanks to inconsistent run and bullpen support. He'll try to get back in the win column in his next outing, likely to come at home early next week against the Nationals.
The Phillies designated Vasquez for assignment Wednesday.
He'll lose his spot on the 40-man roster with the Phillies needing to clear room for two of their trade-deadline pickups in right-hander Michael Lorenzen and infielder Rodolfo Castro. Vasquez has largely operated in a middle-relief role for Philadelphia this season, accruing no saves or holds while turning in a 2.27 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 34:14 K:BB in 39.2 innings. His solid ratios could prompt another team in need of a lefty reliever to scoop him up off waivers.
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Phillies' Rodolfo Castro: Joins Philadelphia
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The Phillies activated Castro ahead of Wednesday's game against the Marlins.
After he was acquired from the Pirates on Tuesday, Castro will end up taking the 40-man roster spot and 26-man active roster spot of Josh Harrison, who has been released by Philadelphia. Like Harrison before him, Castro projects to fill a utility infield role, though he'll bring more upside to the table than his veteran predecessor. The 24-year-old switch hitter wasn't able to stick as a full-time player in Pittsburgh, but he's still produced a 92 wRC+ over 595 plate appearances in the majors, a respectable mark for a player of his age.
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Phillies' Johan Rojas: Nabs fourth straight start
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Rojas will start in center field and bat ninth in Wednesday's game against the Marlins.
Rojas will stick in the lineup for a fourth consecutive game, with two of his starts coming versus southpaws and two coming versus right-handed pitchers. The 22-year-old has held his own thus far in a limited sample of 32 plate appearances in the majors, slashing .310/.333/.345 with a palatable 25 percent strikeout rate. He's made his largest impact on the basepaths (three steals in three attempts) and on defense. If the Phillies commit to Rojas as a full-time player in the outfield, it would allow the team to deploy Brandon Marsh at a corner spot and move either Kyle Schwarber or Nick Castellanos -- both defensive liabilities -- to designated hitter.
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Phillies' Garrett Stubbs: Filling in for banged-up Realmuto
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Stubbs will start at catcher and bat eighth in Wednesday's game against the Marlins.
He'll pick up a second consecutive start in place of J.T. Realmuto, who is nursing a hand injury after getting spiked by a Marlins player in Monday's 4-2 win. The Phillies haven't suggested that Realmuto is at risk of landing on the 10-day injured list, so Stubbs may not be in line for an extended run as the team's No. 1 backstop. Despite being on the active roster all season, Stubbs enters Tuesday's contest with just 70 plate appearances to his name while Realmuto has been one of the majors' more heavily-used catchers.
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Phillies' Brandon Marsh: Retreats to bench Wednesday
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Marsh is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Marlins.
The lefty-hitting Marsh is getting the day off while southpaw Braxton Garrett toes the rubber for the Marlins. Johan Rojas will check in for Marsh in center field.
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Phillies' Jake Cave: Takes seat against lefty
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Cave is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Marlins.
Though he'll take a seat Wednesday with southpaw Braxton Garrett on the hill for Miami, the lefty-hitting Cave could soon see his opportunities to play against right-handed pitching trend down as well. Cave already sat against Marlins righty Sandy Alcantara on Tuesday, paving the way for rookie Johan Rojas to make another start in the outfield. Rojas will get his fourth straight start Wednesday and has provided a .678 OPS to go along with three stolen bases in his brief time in the big leagues this season. Cave has matched him with three steals but owns a much lower OPS (.596).
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Phillies' J.T. Realmuto: Remains out with hand injury
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Realmuto (hand) is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Marlins.
He'll take a seat for the second day in a row while he continues to heal up from the gash he sustained to his throwing hand when a Marlins player slid into home plate in Monday's 4-2 win. Garrett Stubbs will fill in for Realmuto behind the dish for a second straight night.
Phillies' Nick Castellanos: Launches game-winning homer
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Castellanos went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Tuesday's 3-1 win over the Marlins.
Castellanos provided the big blow in Tuesday's comeback win over the Marlins, blasting a two-run homer off David Robertson in the ninth inning to put the Phillies ahead 3-1. The 31-year-old Castellanos had been slumping coming into Tuesday's contest, going just 4-for-38 (.105) over his last nine games. Overall, he's sporting a .273/.315/.449 slash line with 15 homers, 53 runs scored, 62 RBI and six stolen bases across 444 plate appearances this season.
