After the surprise of newest Phillie Luis Arraez being put in the cleanup spot, it all seemed to make sense. Arraez singled and drove in Trea Turner in the first inning to send the Phillies on their way to a 5-0 win over the Washington Nationals. Arraez finished the game 2-for-4 with a double, a run scored, and two runs driven in.
Bryson Stott and Justin Crawford both had two hits in the eight and nine spots in the lineup and Turner finished with a three-hit game. Defensively, there were no problems for the revamped alignment of Alec Bohm at first, Stott at second, and Bryce Harper in right field with Arraez taking his usual spot at second. Of course, the first four balls in play went to right field, but Harper was up to the task and handled each with no problem. And yes, he performed his customary right field bow to the fans in right field when he first took the field.
Starter Jesus Luzardo (10-5, 3.36) gave his team eight shutout innings and another new face, reliever Caleb Kilian gave up a one out single to C.J. Abrams in the ninth, but as if to prove that was just a blip on the radar, came back to strike out the next two batters and end the game.
Arraez as a cleanup hitter?
The addition of Arraez added yet another left-handed hitter to the Phillies lineup and Don Mattingly debated between putting the newbie in either the leadoff spot or in the cleanup spot in the order. He dropped Turner, the usual leadoff hitter and only one of the first four hitters in the order that bats right-handed, to the two spot to split up Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper. It was just the 39th time in his career that Arraez batted in the cleanup spot, but when he spoke with Don Mattingly, he told his new boss that he didn’t really care where he hit in the order.
Mattingly went with the theory that with the hitters in the one through three spots in the order, Arraez would be coming to the plate with runners on base and possibly in scoring position, so a three-time batting champion in the spot could still do some damage even if he is not known for his ability to hit home runs.
“You figure he’s coming up with men on base, and it doesn’t take a homer to drive in a run,” Mattingly told reporters. “A base hit drives in runs from second base.”
On the agenda
While fans and pundits will keep an eye on the batting lineup and how the new faces in new places defensive alignment works out, Wednesday night’s game also brings another interesting angle as Andrew Painter makes his second start since returning from Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
The 23-year-old delivered six strong innings in his return last Friday and the Phillies hope for more of the same out of Painter. Painter (1-8, 6.72) will be opposed by Jake Irvin (2-5, 5.56).
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