Prior to last night, not much had worked for Pete Mackanin on this California road trip.
Every lineup twist and combination he threw out there came up fruitless as the Phillies were winless on the swing.
But something clicked last night, as the offense exploded for 12 runs and the Phils earned their first victory of the trip.
So Mackanin is sticking with what worked, including keeping veteran Pedro Florimon in the lineup.
Florimon, a 30-year-old veteran who was called up from Lehigh Valley earlier this week, gets the nod in left field today and bats seventh in the series finale against the Giants. It'll be his first start with the Phils. It's his first MLB start since he started at shortstop for the Pirates in last year's season finale against the Cardinals.
Florimon came into last night's game in the fifth inning and proceeded to smoke an RBI double that gave the Phils a 5-4 lead in the sixth inning.
Rhys Hoskins will be back at his natural first base spot and bat third today. Hoskins launched another dinger last night, a three-run shot to left in the top of the third. It was his fourth homer of the year and he became the first Phillies player to hit four homers in his first 10 games.
MLB
Jorge Alfaro and Cameron Perkins will also stick in the lineup for today's Bay Area finale.
Alfaro had a night to forget last night, going 1 for 5 with three punchouts. But he'll catch and bat fifth. Perkins went 2 for 4 with an RBI in Saturday's win. He'll be in right and bat eighth.
The Phils will send Ben Lively to the mound today for his first MLB start since July 5, a 5-2 loss to Pittsburgh at Citizens Bank Park. Lively is 1-4 on the season with a 3.80 ERA in seven starts. His only win of the year came against these same Giants during his first career start on June 3. That day, Lively tossed seven innings of one-run ball to earn the victory.
San Francisco counters today with ace lefty Madison Bumgarner, who's only made 11 starts this season as he missed a few months with shoulder and rib injuries suffered in an April dirt bike accident. Bumgarner is 3-5 on the year with a 2.99 ERA. He's 4-3 in his regular-season career vs. the Phils with a 3.60 ERA in nine starts.
Both team's lineups for Sunday's matinee can be found below:
Phillies
1. Cesar Hernandez, 2B
2. Freddy Galvis, SS
3. Rhys Hoskins, 1B
4. Maikel Franco, 3B
5. Jorge Alfaro, C
6. Nick Williams, CF
7. Pedro Florimon, LF
8. Cameron Perkins, RF
9. Ben Lively, SP
Giants
1. Denard Span, CF
2. Kelby Tomlinson, 2B
3. Jarrett Parker, LF
4. Buster Posey, C
5. Pablo Sandoval, 3B
6. Brandon Crawford, SS
7. Ryder Jones, 1B
8. Carlos Moncrief, RF
9. Madison Bumgarner, SP