by Monday at Minnesota was the first of many games for the Phillies against a right-handed starting pitcher, but Brandon Marsh was absent from the lineup.
Marsh is dealing with soreness in his right elbow, manager Rob Thomson told reporters, but is expected to play Tuesday.
The Phillies lined up Weston Wilson in left field against Twins right-hander Bailey Ober. Minnesota hasn’t named its starter for Wednesday, but if it’s a right-hander, the Phillies would have to play one in eight straight games before likely facing Yankees left-hander Nestor Cortes next Wednesday at home.
That should mean Marsh will start every day, if his elbow is healthy enough. The Phillies currently have Marsh platooning Wilson in left field and Johan Rojas with Cristian Pache in center. Pache faces lefties and Rojas faces righties. Thomson has also started Edmundo Sosa at second base instead of the declining Bryson Stott three straight games when facing a left-handed starting pitcher.
Marsh is having a strong season against righties, batting .290/.373/.500 on 20 of 21 extra-base hits. He’s just 7-of-49 (.143) against lefties with 25 strikeouts.
Wilson has started three games as Marsh’s platoon partner since being recalled from Triple-A just before the All-Star break and has performed well each time, going 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored against the A’s, 3 for 5 with a home run Friday at Pittsburgh and 1 for 4 with a sacrifice fly Sunday.
Still, it’s a position — right-handed outfielder — that the Phillies could upgrade before the July 30 trade deadline.
Dahl re-signs
The Phillies have re-signed outfielder David Dahl to a minor league contract. He will be assigned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
Dahl was designated for assignment on July 8 and elected to become a free agent two days later. He failed to find major league work and opted to return to an organization he believed might need a left-handed outfielder in the event of an injury.
Dahl hit a home run in his Phillies debut and again the following week in London, but then he hit a slump, going 8-for-52 with 20 strikeouts. He showed four straight years that he could crush Triple-A pitchers and returns to the IronPigs with a .340 batting average and a 1.076 OPS.
Merrifield signs with Braves, but gets injured
The Braves signed Whit Merrifield to a major league contract Monday as Ozzie Albies was placed on injured reserve with a fractured wrist that is expected to sideline him until potentially the final week of the regular season.
Injuries have plagued the Braves all year — Spencer Strider, Ronald Acuña Jr., Michael Harris II, Sean Murphy, Max Fried, Albies — and Merrifield quickly rejoined the club Monday afternoon. He took a ground ball to the finger of his throwing hand during batting practice and is listed as day to day.
