Harper, Gregorius out for finale vs. Cards
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The Phillies will have to face the Cardinals without Bryce Harper and Didi Gregorius for Thursday’s series finale.
The right fielder and shortstop were hit by consecutive pitches in the top of the sixth inning during Wednesday night’s 5-3 win against the Cardinals.
Harper took to Instagram to provide an update, saying he “felt good” after a 97 mph sinker hit him in the face. Phillies manager Joe Girardi told reporters after Wednesday’s game that Gregorius may have to have imaging on his ribs, but no further updates were provided.
Roman Quinn started in right field and hit seventh for the Phillies. Quinn has made seven starts this season; however, Thursday marked his first in right field.
Nick Maton filled Gregorius' spot and batted eighth. Maton had made three previous appearances at shortstop this season, all during Philadelphia’s homestand against the Giants on April 19-21.
Andrew McCutchen, who batted fifth for the first time in his career Wednesday night after sitting two games, returned to hit leadoff. The left fielder was followed in the order by Alec Bohm, who was out of Thursday's lineup with a “reset” day, according to Girardi.
McCutchen hit a go-ahead RBI single Wednesday night, though he still is not completely happy with his start to the season.
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“You know, the last thing you want to do when you're playing is suck,” McCutchen said. “You want to hold [up] your end of the bargain. So, right now, I’ve been sucking. To be able to come through and get that hit [was] definitely gratifying. But I'd be lying to you if I said I wouldn't think about the strikeouts I had as well. I know I can continue, and I'm going to get better continue to keep getting better and, quite frankly, not suck.”
Girardi believes the few days' rest will provide the reset some of his players need.
“I think Cutch is really important [to] this team,” said Girardi. “Hopefully [the reset] worked. I mean, he had a huge hit. So hopefully that gets him going. We need to get some guys rolling.”