Brandon Marsh took to his new spot in the Phillies batting order right away.
The left fielder, whose .324 average is fourth-highest in baseball, has been hitting well no matter where he’s been in the lineup. But Tuesday was his first time starting a game in the leadoff spot since 2022, when he was with the Angels.
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First, Marsh worked a four-pitch walk from Marlins starter and South Jersey native Tyler Phillips. Then, in classic leadoff hitter fashion, he stole second base, so that he was in scoring position when Alec Bohm dropped a ball just inside the right field line for a single.
“It was fun,” Marsh said. “I didn’t really think too much of it. Guys told me just to take the same at-bats, same approach. I didn’t really get one to hit in the first at-bat, so that made it easy for me.”
It sparked a three-run first inning for the Phillies that put them ahead for the 8-2 win. Jesús Luzardo posted a quality start to help secure the series victory over Miami.
Marsh’s move to the top of the order is a temporary one, as interim manager Don Mattingly tried something different with his top three spots since Trea Turner was out of the lineup with a bruised wrist. Mattingly said postgame he will go back to his usual order with Turner set to return Wednesday, because he wants to have consistency with his lineup.
“Brandon’s been good everywhere we put him, so we’ll get back to what we do,” Mattingly said.
Marsh kept it going in the second inning, when he and Bohm both hit two-run homers. The Phillies continued to run up the score against Phillips, whose ERA ballooned from 1.86 to 3.10 when his night ended after four innings.
“He’s a guy that usually works the ball down,” Mattingly said of Phillips. “If you chase him down, you’re going to be in trouble. We pushed him up. I felt like we pushed him up enough in the zone to get pitches we could do something with.”
Kyle Schwarber, who was batting second and started at first base for the first time since 2021, bashed a solo home run in the fourth for good measure. On defense, Schwarber wasn’t tested much as he didn’t have a ball hit in his direction.
In Monday’s series opener, the bottom half of the Phillies lineup came through in the 7-0 win. On Tuesday, it was largely the top half. Harper drew a key walk and then scored in the first inning on a two-RBI triple from Bryson Stott, who hit fifth.
“It’s just a testament to the guys we have in this clubhouse, and the way we feed off each other,” Marsh said. “It’s not going to be everyone’s night every night. Other guys are gonna have to step up when others don’t.”
Luzardo, meanwhile, shut down Miami for six innings. After a leadoff walk to start the game, Luzardo retired 12 consecutive Marlins until Javier Sanoja singled in the fifth.
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“After the first, I feel like I really found a groove, getting back in the zone,” Luzardo said. “Kind of lost it at the beginning, and then made some adjustments, and felt way better.”
He allowed another single and a walk to load the bases, but wriggled out of the jam by getting Xavier Edwards to ground out. Luzardo also escaped trouble in the sixth after giving up a leadoff double, retiring three straight. Catcher J.T. Realmuto helped him out by successfully challenging a ball call that turned into a strikeout.
Luzardo got ahead in the count often, throwing first-pitch strikes 21 out of 28 times.
“When our offense is rolling like that, it gives you know the pitchers a little bit more freedom to attack the zone,” Luzardo said.
Miami finally got to him in the seventh, spoiling the shutout with a two-run home run on a sweeper in the bottom of the zone. Luzardo rebounded with a groundout and consecutive strikeouts to end his outing on a high note.
Tanner Banks and Max Lazar each pitched a scoreless inning in relief. Lazar had been recalled earlier on Tuesday when Brad Keller was placed on the injured list. He allowed a two-out single but then induced a groundout back to the mound, which he tossed over to Schwarber at first to seal it.
Then, for the first time, Schwarber joined the Phillies’ victory handshake line as an infielder.
“I was like, ‘Man, I wonder what they do out here,’” Schwarber said jokingly. “I usually just stroll out there and get J.T. and the pitcher with a nice little high five and things like that. But it was fun. It was nice to be out there.”
Say this for the Phillies: They are what we thought they were, a playoff contender led by two aces atop the starting rotation and a dominant closer. Pitching coach Caleb Cotham joins “Phillies Extra,” The Inquirer’s baseball podcast, to discuss the state of the Phillies’ pitching, from the success of Cristopher Sanchez and Zack Wheeler to the struggles of Andrew Painter. Watch here.
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