PITTSBURGH — The first day back from the All-Star break didn’t go well for the Phillies, who twice blew three-run leads and left 11 runners on base en route to a walk-off loss to the Pirates on Friday night.
Day 2 got off to a much better start. The Phillies activated JT Realmuto from the disabled list after missing 32 games recovering from meniscus removal surgery in his right knee. He returned to the lineup as the No. 5 hitter on Saturday.
Realmuto has been out for more than a month with a torn meniscus and was having his weakest hitting season with the Phillies when he underwent surgery on June 12, but he remains a threat to opposing pitchers and the Phillies have added depth to their lineup by replacing some of their lower-order hitters with middle infielders.
Rafael Marchand was demoted to Triple-A to make room for Realmuto. Marchand played just over a month in the majors and performed very well, going 15-for-51 (.294 batting average) with four doubles and three home runs.
Garrett Stubbs will continue to serve as the backup catcher.
“He’s played really well. He’s shown us everything we need to see. He’s a major leaguer,” manager Rob Thomson said of the 25-year-old Marchand. “But he needs to play and he needs to be able to play every day. We thought that was the smartest thing to do. Stubby’s done a great job, too. He’s been with us for a couple of years. We know how important Stubby is in the clubhouse. But Marchand needs to play. That’s the No. 1 factor.”
Rangers forward Suarez and Zack Wheeler will return to the Phillies’ starting rotation in Minnesota. Suarez will start Monday night against the Twins, and Wheeler will start on Tuesday. Both players were dealing with minor back injuries before the All-Star break. Wheeler missed his final start before the break, and Suarez missed the All-Star Game.
The Phillies will likely be cautious with their starting pitchers in the second half of the season. This season is about winning, not putting multiple pitchers at the top of the innings leaderboard. The Phillies imposed a 90-95 pitch limit on Aaron Nola on Friday night and are likely to take a similar approach with the rest of their starting pitchers in the first cycle.
Wheeler may not throw many pitches in his return — he threw 76 on July 9 — and will have two weeks off from starting before taking the mound at Target Field. Suarez will pitch on nine days’ rest.
