Finally, Phils' entire starting lineup is healthy

PHILADELPHIA -- Dave Dombrowski said he wanted to see how the Phillies play with their everyday eight in the same lineup.

Well, Dombrowski's chance to see it began Friday night.

The Phillies activated shortstop Didi Gregorius from the injured list following a long bout with right-elbow inflammation and pseudogout. Friday was the third time this season the Phillies had catcher J.T. Realmuto, first baseman Rhys Hoskins, second baseman Jean Segura, third baseman Alec Bohm, left fielder Andrew McCutchen, center fielder Odúbel Herrera, right fielder Bryce Harper and Gregorius in the lineup at the same time.

The only other two times it happened: May 7 and 9.

Gregorius hit a solo homer to right field in the fifth inning to hand the Phillies a three-run lead in what became a 4-3 walk-off victory in 10 innings over the Padres.

“It's kind of nice to have,” Phillies manager Joe Girardi said. “Obviously, we'll work through it and see how it works together. We’ve had this lineup maybe three … times this year. So, you know, it's different when you have all the different pieces and trying to divide your left-handers up and make it difficult for the opposing manager when he deploys certain guys in his bullpen. So that's kind of why we made the lineup today, but [we'll] see how it goes.”

The Phillies need it to go well. They entered this weekend's three-game series against the Padres at 37-41 and fourth in the National League East. If they do not play better before the July 30 Trade Deadline, it is not a stretch to think they could trade some of their impending free-agents to replenish the farm system or even find help for next season.

“You start to take away the days in July, it's really important that you're still in it,” Girardi said. “So, I think we do need to take advantage of this time. And we're facing really good teams right now. That's the other thing that we're going to run into. But we have to prove that we can compete against these teams.”

The Phillies play their final 10 games before the All-Star break against the Padres, Cubs and Red Sox.

Late-inning replacements?
Former Phillies left fielder Pat Burrell started 154 games in left field during Philadelphia's World Series campaign in 2008. He finished only 58, mostly because former manager Charlie Manuel brought in a defensive substitution late in the game. It might have been a blow to Burrell’s ego, but it worked.

Now that the Phillies have their everyday eight together, it could create more opportunities for Girardi to use Ronald Torreyes or Luke Williams as late-inning defensive replacements at third base for Bohm, whose -13 Defensive Runs Saved is the lowest mark in baseball, according to FanGraphs.

“We'll look at it every day,” Girardi said. “I want Alec to continue to improve and to continue to grow. And part of that is being able to play in pressure situations. That's all part of it. So I think he's physically and mentally equipped to do that. He just needs to do it.”

Handling Didi and Jean
Girardi plans to break in Gregorius and Segura relatively slowly following their returns from the IL. (Segura returned Tuesday from a Grade 1 left groin strain.) Segura, for example, played Tuesday and Wednesday, but he was not scheduled to play Thursday’s game against the Marlins before it got postponed because of rain.

Gregorius might play only twice this weekend against the Padres.

“You check with him every day, number one, to see how that's going,” Girardi said. “But I could see maybe playing him through this weekend. Playing him two of the three, and then giving him a day off somewhere there. Maybe the first day in Chicago, if he feels good on Sunday. Then you can probably maybe push him a little bit more.”