Monday in Minnesota was the first of several upcoming games for Philadelphia against a right-handed starting pitcher, but Brandon Marsh was absent from the lineup.
Marsh has a right elbow injury but is expected to play on Tuesday, club manager Rob Thompson told reporters.
Philadelphia started Weston Wilson at left wing against Twins right wing Billy Oubre. Minnesota has not announced its starting pitcher for Wednesday’s game, but if it’s the right wing, Philadelphia is set to face one of eight straight games before facing Yankees left wing Nestor Cortes at home next Wednesday.
That means Marsh will start every day, if his elbow is healthy enough. Philadelphia currently has Marsh with Wilson at left wing and Johan Rojas with Cristian Bache in center. Bache faces lefties and Rojas faces righties. Thompson has also started Edmundo Sosa at second base for the struggling Bryson Stott for three straight games when he faces a lefty starter.
Marsh is having a solid season against right-handers, hitting .290/.373/.500 with 20 of 21 extra-base hits. He’s just 7 of 49 (.143) against left-handers with 25 hits.
Wilson has started three games as Marsh’s partner since being called up from Triple A before the All-Star break, and he’s been successful each time, going 1-in-3 with a walk and a run against the A’s, 3-in-5 with a homer Friday in Pittsburgh and 1-in-4 with a sacrifice bunt Sunday.
However, this is the spot — the right-handed center fielder — that the Phillies could upgrade before the July 30 trade deadline.
Dal renews his contract
Philadelphia has re-signed midfielder David Dahl to a second-division contract. He will take over for Lehigh Valley in the third division.
Dahl was designated for assignment on July 8 and elected a free agent two days later. He did not find a major league job and opted to return to an organization that he already saw might need a left-handed outfielder in the event of an injury.
Dahl hit in his first appearance for Philadelphia and again the following week in London, but then slumped, going 8-of-52 with 20 strikeouts. He has shown for four straight years that he can crush third-rate pitches and returns to the IronPigs with a .340 batting average and a 1.076 OPS.
Merrifield signs with Braves, suffers injury
The Braves signed Whit Merrifield in a major deal Monday after placing Ozzie Albaez on the injured list with a broken wrist that is expected to keep him out until the final week of the regular season.
The Braves have been plagued by injuries all year — Spencer Strider, Ronald Acuna Jr., Michael Harris II, Sean Murphy, Max Fried, Albies — and Merrifield quickly joined the club Monday afternoon. He was hit by a ground ball off a finger on his throwing hand during batting practice and was listed as a day-to-day player.