The Phillies are changing the way they win. On Monday, they beat the Miami Marlins 6-5 and again turned to pinch-hitting, pinch-running and defensive replacements to squeeze value out of a roster that has become more flexible over the past month.
Derek Hill was part of that shift. He replaced Justin Crawford in the sixth inning, then answered with an RBI single that scored Bryson Stott before later drawing a bases-loaded walk, the kind of night that showed why the Phillies have been using him more often in late-game spots. The move mattered because the team was holding one of the final two spots in the National League wild-card race at 68-58, where every extra run can change the shape of a week.
The bench usage also reflects how interim manager Don Mattingly has handled the roster lately. He has been more hands-on over the past month, and the club has leaned harder on late substitutions than it did earlier in the season. Hill and Bryan De La Cruz have both been used more often after the game turns into a match-up test, and Brandon Marsh has sometimes been allowed to hit against tough relievers even while struggling against lefties. That mix-and-match approach has become easier to manage because the Phillies have more room to maneuver than they did before.
That flexibility was on display again in a different form Sunday in Minneapolis, when Mattingly used Bryan De La Cruz as a pinch-hitter and Hill as a pinch-runner for Luis Arraez. After those changes, De La Cruz and Hill moved to the outfield, Bryce Harper went to first base, Bryson Stott shifted to second, Edmundo Sosa took shortstop and Alec Bohm handled third. Harper has been getting defensive changes to get him off his feet because of knee soreness, and Trea Turner was out after fouling a ball off his right knee on Saturday. The Phillies have also used defensive replacements more often, which has given Mattingly more ways to cover for those absences and still keep pressure on the game.
That is the part that has not always come naturally. The Phillies have not always attacked games this aggressively with their bench, even now, when the standings make every decision feel heavier. Last month they were carrying only two catchers because of injured list stints, which left them with a more traditional full bench for the first time all season and opened the door to this style of game management. Mattingly sounded as if he intends to keep using it. He said the flexibility lets a team do more and called it fun to move players around when needed. In a crowded postseason chase, the Phillies look ready to keep asking the same thing of their bench: cover the gaps, win the inning, and do it again tomorrow.
