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PHILADELPHIA — The Phillies didn’t score in the first three innings for the fifth time in five games, they struck out four times with the bases loaded and the manager came with jokes after another win Wednesday. Rob Thomson has one of the hottest hitters in baseball, Edmundo Sosa, and he’s probably not going to be in the lineup Thursday afternoon. Advertisement “I’d like to play him,” Thomson said.
“I’m going to call MLB and see if we can play 10 guys.” The season is five games old, so judgments are overreactions. The Phillies won, 5-1, against a Colorado Rockies team that seems destined for last place, and they did it with the bottom two men in the lineup reaching base six times.
Sosa and Johan Rojas started because the opponent had a lefty on the mound. The Phillies are committed to Bryson Stott as the regular second baseman and Brandon Marsh as the regular center fielder. Nothing in the first week has changed that.
But it’s a hint of evidence that Thomson has levers he can pull for the next six months if needed. It could be that both Sosa and Rojas are in their proper place as extras. Even so, they are capable reserves that can help a contender survive the 162-game grind.
“Everybody’s a really good player on this team,” said Zack Wheeler, who struck out 10 in a ho-hum seven innings. “And it’s hard to get on this team just because of that. Our bench guys could start a lot of places.
They’re playing great right now. Sosa, he’s one of my favorite players to watch in the big leagues. He plays hard.
He’s really good in the field, and he’s swinging it right now.” One of his favorites? “Just the way he plays,” Wheeler said. “He plays the game the right way.
He plays hard. He’s just a good guy. So it’s cool to watch.
” The Phillies have exhausted all superlatives for Sosa, who is 9-for-15 to begin the season. His two-run double with the bases loaded in the eighth inning atoned for all the star players who struck out with the bases loaded. “I mean, Sosa’s been probably our best hitter for the five games now,” Trea Turner said.
“He’s been on fire. He’s a good player. Those guys were electric tonight.
” It was plural Wednesday night because Rojas, playing center and batting ninth, went 2-for-2 with a walk. He worked a seven-pitch at-bat in the third inning and singled up the middle. He laid down a bunt in the fifth inning to move Sosa from second to third so perfect that Colorado had no play on Rojas at first.
He sacrificed Sosa to third base in the seventh inning. He drew a walk in the eighth inning. Advertisement “This was the best major-league game he’s played, in my opinion,” Thomson said.
“That’s exactly what he needs to do. He needs to move runners, put the ball in play, sacrifice, and play good defense. He really played well.
” “I agree,” Rojas said. “I moved the runner. I did my job.
” The Phillies had 3:30 p.m. optional bunting practice before Wednesday’s game.
Rojas was out there. So were Stott, Marsh, Max Kepler and Kody Clemens. For years, the Phillies have implored Rojas to incorporate more bunting.
He’s just never been comfortable with the art of sacrificing. He practiced it during winter ball in the Dominican Republic. He did work in spring training and, even on days when the Phillies do not hold formal bunting practice, he’ll bunt off the machine in the underground cage.
Thomson has said he’d like Rojas to attempt one bunt a game whenever he’s in the lineup. So, a good start. But Rojas can be more than that; he’s displayed a more controlled approach at the plate since spring training began.
“I let the ball travel a little bit more,” Rojas said, “and hit the ball up the middle.” He’ll be back on the bench Thursday, just like Sosa. The Phillies are going to use Marsh and Kepler in the outfield whenever they face a righty starter.
That’s fair. But Sosa or Rojas could push his way into some sort of platoon — be it second base or left field or center field. Sosa could be an option in left field against lefties.
But the Phillies are about to see a string of right-handed starters, so the opportunities will be scarce. If anything, Sosa has set the example for the bench unit. Maybe he’d have more at-bats on another team.
But he has embraced his role. He has found the beauty in it. Rojas is 24, and he might still be a developing player, but he will have to do it in limited bursts.
He’s asked Sosa how to prepare. “A lot of questions,” Rojas said. They’re not the most important players on this roster.
But they matter. “I learn from him a lot,” Rojas said. “I just feel extremely grateful to play here and to be in front of our fans.
It’s an amazing feeling to be back again with all the fans that we have here.” (Photo of Edmundo Sosa: Bill Streicher / USA Today via Imagn Images).
