Derek

Hill

It’s the third straight game that Crawford has missed due to soreness in his left knee. Even if he were healthy though, it’s likely that he would have sat against Tigers’ left-hander Tarik Skubal on Sunday, especially with Derek Hill terrorizing his former club through the first two games of the series. Hill will start in center field and bat eighth for the Phillies on Sunday afternoon in Motown.

Derek Hill makes his second straight start in center field while Crawford receives some extra time off to address left knee soreness. The 22-year-old rookie has hit .263/.312/.353 with two homers and 12 steals in 287 plate appearances through 88 games.

Hill became a late addition to the Phillies’ lineup after Justin Crawford was scratched with a knee issue. The 30-year-old outfielder returned to the first ballpark that he called home in the big leagues and made an instant impact, crushing a 427-foot (104.1-mph EV) solo shot off of Jack Flaherty to open the scoring in the third inning. He then tied things up at two runs apiece with an RBI single in the fourth inning. On the season, Hill is now slashing .266/.321/.460 with seven homers and 15 RBI in 137 plate appearances on the season.

The issue isn’t believed to be major and the 22-year-old outfielder is considered day-to-day. Derek Hill will start in his place in center field on Friday evening against Jack Flaherty and the Tigers at Comerica Park.

Marsh heads to the bench with lefty Andrew Abbott toeing the rubber for Cincinnati. The 28-year-old corner outfielder has delivered a remarkable first-half, hitting .305/.339/.505 with 15 homers, 46 RBI and eight steals in 342 plate appearances across 86 games. It’ll be speedster Derek Hill getting a shot in right field to open this contest.

With his left shoulder leading the way, Hill crashed into the wall pretty good on Luke Maile’s homer in the first. However, he remained in both then and after getting checked at first base on following his single in the second. He wound up finishing the 15-1 loss with his first ever infield appearance after Garrett Stubbs, who had replaced Bryce Harper at first in the blowout, moved to the mound to finish out the game. He’d played the outfield exclusively in 666 minor league games and 198 as a major leaguer.

Hill capped off a five-run uprising in the ninth inning with a 441-foot (109.8-mph EV) two-run shot off of Gus Varland. He also struck out after entering as a pinch-hitter in the seventh. For the season, the 30-year-old outfielder is now hitting .250/.304/.442 with six homers and 13 RBI in 114 plate appearances between the Phillies and White Sox.

Hill came off the bench to deliver a clutch blast against Nationals lefty Richard Lovelady with the Phillies down to their final out of the contest after Kyle Schwarber (back) worked a 10-pitch walk to keep the game going. The 30-year-old was acquired from the White Sox earlier this month in a small trade and will continue occupying a bench role.

Hill was likely going to be designated for assignment by the White Sox with Everson Pereira returning on Thursday, so they opted to flip him for anything they could get at this point. The 30-year-old outfielder has hit .213/.284/.375 with four homers, eight RBI and seven stolen bases in 90 plate appearances with the White Sox this season. He’ll add insurance for the Phillies in the event that Adolis Garcia (shoulder) requires a trip to the injured list.

Doesn’t sound like it’s great news for the Phillies on Adolis García’s shoulder injury. Hill was pushed out of a role with the White Sox by the promotion of Braden Montgomery and was a potential DFA candidate with Everson Pereira slated to come off the injured list soon, so it’s good work by the White Sox to get prospects for him.