Don Mattingly’s lineup shuffle has sparked the Phillies’ offense
Jun 2, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper (3) celebrates his two-run home run with left fielder Brandon Marsh (16) against the San Diego Padres during the fourth inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
On May 26, Don Mattingly had had enough. His five-hole hitter the day prior knocked two of the three runs the Phillies scored in their win over the San Diego Padres with a home run, and was hitting .318 on the season. The bat in front of him, supposedly Bryce Harper‘s protection, went 0-3 on the day and was in the middle of a 2-17 skid, while posting a .605 OPS.
The line-up needed a mix-up; they hadn’t scored more than four runs in a week — and would not for well over a week after — but there was a clear change to be made. A change that former manager Rob Thomson would not have been too keen on making because it would put two left-handed bats back-to-back.
But Mattingly made it. He slotted Brandon Marsh in at clean-up behind Harper, and Alec Bohm, the bat on a 2-for-17 skid, would hit behind Marsh.
The lefty went 2-2 before being replaced by Garcia in the fourth. Since then, Marsh has batted clean-up in 10 out of 13 games, posting a .390 batting average and a 1.115 OPS with three home runs, all coming in consecutive days.
He’s been nothing short of the “protection” that the Phillies have needed for years behind Harper — his only downside is his handedness, which gives opposing managers an easy call to the bullpen for a southpaw reliever.
Despite this, Marsh has posted a .973 OPS in 14 plate appearances with four hits and a home run against lefties. His strikeout numbers are staggering, however, going down by way of the “K” in six of those 14 plate appearances.
The danger Marsh poses, now in the clean-up spot, has helped Harper get back on track. In those 13 games, Harper has worked 13 walks and posted an .833 OPS — not great, not bad either, but these numbers need context. In his 13 games prior, the three-hole hitter only walked six times, striking out in 14 other trips to the plate, and posting a .692 OPS.
Harper was cold, and Mattingly made a change that got his bat back in the groove of things. Wednesday night, the Phillies’ first baseman poked his 15th home run of the season to the opposite field.
“Obviously, Harp[er] getting us on the board early gets us a lead,” Mattingly said after the Phillies’ win in Toronto on Wednesday. “And we kept coming — I know this club enough that they’re not going to stop playing, they’re going to keep going. They’re dangerous.”
As for another bat who was affected by Mattingly’s change, Kyle Schwarber moved back into his home in the Phillies’ lineup — the lead-off spot. Schwarber had led off in only three games before May 26th, going 0-11 with a pair of walks.
He’s now hit lead-off in 13 consecutive games, so let’s take a look at his numbers.
Opening Day through May 25: 229 PA | .233/.354/.617 | 21 HR | 78 SO | 32 BB | 37 RBI
May 26 through June 9: 59 PA | .240/.356/.360 | 2 HR | 20 SO | 9 BB | 3 RBI
Interestingly enough, we haven’t seen Schwarber trade off his power for average in the lead-off spot before, but this season, his approach must be different. His batting average on balls in play has over a .100 point difference in the last 13 games, meaning he’s getting rewarded more for putting the ball in play rather than his usual three-outcome at-bats (home run, strikeout, or walk).
“I feel like we’ve been scoring some more runs here early on,” Schwarber said postgame Wednesday. “And feels like we’ve been able to give the pitcher more of a cushion to go out there and do his thing.”
Mattingly’s lineup change has generally worked. The Phillies are 10-4 in their stretch with Wednesday night’s victory, Harper is fighting his way out of a cold streak, Marsh is starting against lefties and making the best case of his career for an All-Star appearance, and Schwarber is showing some diversity in his approach at the plate.
While the middle to the bottom of the lineup has gone through plenty of changes, and may go through more with Garcia’s early exit alongside the Phillies’ training staff, Mattingly has found a solid top of the order and finally some protection for Harper.
They have the day off Thursday before being put to the test by Jacob Misiorowski and two left-handed starters this weekend in Milwaukee.
Sean Regenye
Sean Regenye is a junior broadcast journalism major at Penn State University. He is a die-hard Philly sports fan and loves baseball, especially the Phillies.
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