It was a bittersweet win for the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday night. They managed to knock off the San Diego Padres to take the series, but also lost outfielder Brandon Marsh to an injury.
Luckily, for the Phillies, it appears he avoided any significant damage. After the game, interim manager Don Mattingly shared that Marsh suffered a sprained middle finger and is considered day-to-day.
“It’s kind of going to be day to day,” Mattingly said. “Sounded like they thought he was going to be sore [Wednesday]. We’ll see what happens. He may come in here great.”
Marsh suffered the injury in the first inning of Tuesday’s game. While on first base, the Padres ran a pickoff, and Marsh reached for the base with his right hand. He does wear a sliding mitt, but on his dominant left hand. In the end, he injured the finger.
That would not be when Marsh left the game. He would even get a second at-bat, collecting his second hit of the game in the process. Still, in the fourth inning, Adolis García took over for Marsh in rightfield. After the game, Marsh would seemingly be in good spirits, making it clear he’ll just have to wear two sliding mitts in the future.
“I’m gonna go double now,” Marsh said. “That’s the plan. … Probably ride with double until the end of the season.”
Along with Marsh and García, the Phillies have been playing rookie Justin Crawford in centerfield this season. Edmundo Sosa, Kyle Schwarber, Otto Kemp, and Garrett Stubbs all have the ability to play in the outfield. Schwarber is, of course, primarily used as a DH, but Marsh did not have an issue with his finger batting. It bothered him more in the field.
“I kind of felt it more throwing [than swinging]; not like terrible,” Marsh said. “But the way I was thinking about it is we’ve got the best defensive right fielder in the game, we’re up 4-0, so try to minimize [making it worse] and try to get ready to go for tomorrow or the first game in L.A.”
Brandon Marsh Has Been One of the Philadelphia Phillies Best Hitters
GettyPhiladelphia Phillies OF Brandon Marsh
Brandon Marsh has been with the Philadelphia Phillies since being traded there by the Los Angeles Angels back in 2022. Since then, he’s often filled the role of a platoon bat in the outfield, not getting many opportunities against left-handed pitching.
That is, until this season when he’s broken out as one of the best bats on the Phillies. One that they can’t afford to lose for any stretch of time.
In 51 games, Marsh is hitting .326 with a .356 OBP, a .481 slugging percentage, and an .836 OPS. It’s a team-high for batting average. That includes 5 home runs, 9 doubles, and 2 triples to go along with 24 RBI. His 1.7 WAR matches last season’s mark already.
The Phillies Need to Find Some Offense
GettyPhiladelphia Phillies 3B Alec Bohm
The 2026 season didn’t start the way anyone on the Phillies expected, culminating in the firing of manager Rob Thomson. He was later replaced by Don Mattingly, and the team has started winning since then. Still, at 28-27, they’re third in the NL East, 9.0 games behind the Atlanta Braves. They’re also on the outside looking in at the Wild Card.
A major reason for those struggles has been the offense. Despite Kyle Schwarber and Brandon Marsh having career seasons, and Bryce Harper playing with his best OPS since 2023, there are major gaps on the offense, particularly the lack of success that the Phillies’ right-handed hitters have had.
Going into play on Tuesday, the Phillies were 30th in right-handed hitting outfielders, with a .174 batting average. Then, as a team, they were hitting .202 against right-handed pitching. That’s 28th in MLB.
Any time that Marsh is going to miss is going to force bench players and those struggling right-handed outfielders into a larger role. With the division as it stands, they can’t afford that as they wrap up with the Padres before taking on the Los Angeles Dodgers.
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