The Philadelphia Phillies made notable changes to their outfield lineup in Saturday night’s 3-2 victory over the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field. For only the third time this season, right fielder Nick Castellanos was not in the starting lineup for reasons unrelated to injury or discipline. Instead, Harrison Bader started in center field, Brandon Marsh played left field, and Max Kepler took over right field.
Manager Rob Thomson explained before the game that these moves were planned as part of a strategy to rest each outfielder during the weekend series, particularly due to the firm turf at Texas’ stadium. With Jacob deGrom pitching for the Rangers, Thomson decided it was an appropriate time to sit Castellanos.
The reconfigured outfield contributed significantly to Philadelphia’s win. The team trailed 1-0 in the seventh inning when Marsh singled and Bader walked before Kepler hit a two-run double off deGrom. Bryson Stott then drove in Kepler with a single after deGrom exited.
“I’m happy for him,” Thomson said about Kepler. “There’s been a lot of talk about him, a lot of noise. Like I’ve said for a while, he’s had good at-bats for a bit — and he showed it tonight. He came through.”
Kepler’s double left his bat at 99.6 mph, and he also recorded hits with exit velocities of 96.1 mph and 102 mph during the game. According to Statcast data, since 2019 only three other players—Juan Soto, Julio Rodríguez, and Kerry Carpenter—have hit three balls at least 96 mph off deGrom in one game.
Asked if succeeding against deGrom felt different, Kepler said: “A little bit,” adding: “But at the end of the day, it’s just another pitcher on the mound — no disrespect to Jacob. … But yeah, he’s definitely one of the best.”
Castellanos’ absence from Saturday’s lineup drew attention because previous non-starts occurred due to disciplinary action or minor injury earlier this season. His offensive production has declined recently; his OPS dropped to .727—the lowest since May—and he is batting .211 with a .588 OPS since July began.
Thomson addressed questions about future playing time for Castellanos: “Casty is going to play,” he said. “The question is left field or center field — what we’re going to do there. Casty can get some days off here and there, I don’t think that’s an issue. But he’s going to play.”
Kepler’s performance followed Marsh’s four-hit effort in Friday night’s game against Texas—a match Philadelphia won decisively by eight runs.
Since acquiring Bader and adjusting their outfield rotation accordingly, Philadelphia has gone 6-2 and increased its lead over New York in the NL East standings from half a game at last week’s trade deadline to four-and-a-half games currently.
“It just shows that whatever positioning, whatever lineup we have out there, we can contribute from all angles,” Kepler said after Saturday’s win. “Whether we’re shifted around defensively or offensively, I think we’re very flexible and formidable in a way where you just try to be as selfless as you can so you can just contribute to the collective and the team.”
