Another Phillie has hit the shelf as Darick Hall was placed on the 10-day injured list Friday morning with a right thumb sprain.
Left-handed-hitting utilityman Kody Clemens was recalled from Triple A to take Hall's 26-man roster spot and was in the lineup for Friday's home opener, batting eighth at first base.
Hall could end up missing significant time depending on the severity of the sprain. He suffered the injury sliding into second base Wednesday at Yankee Stadium on a hard-hit ball to the wall. He was thrown out, then taken out of the game after jamming his thumb against the bag.
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This is another blow for the Phils, not only because they're losing their starting first baseman but because of how it impacts the rest of the lineup and bench. With Hall out, the Phillies may use Alec Bohm more regularly at first base with Edmundo Sosa at third. They could also play Clemens or Josh Harrison at either corner infield spot.
The Phils acquired Clemens with reliever Gregory Soto from the Tigers on January 7 for Matt Vierling and Nick Maton. Vierling has thrived in his first real week as a Tiger, going 8 for 24 with a double and a game-winning homer off of former Phillie Hector Neris. Soto has struggled to throw strikes in his first week as a Phillie.
The Phils face hard-throwing Reds right-hander Hunter Greene on Friday afternoon so Clemens and Jake Cave were in the lineup. Brandon Marsh returned after spraining his ankle on the warning track Tuesday night.
Here was Friday's lineup against Greene:
MLB
1. Trea Turner, SS
2. Kyle Schwarber, DH
3. J.T. Realmuto, C
4. Nick Castellanos, RF
5. Bryson Stott, 2B
6. Alec Bohm, 3B
7. Jake Cave, LF
8. Kody Clemens, 1B
9. Brandon Marsh, CF
Zack Wheeler, RHP
On Saturday, the Phillies face left-hander Nick Lodolo, who has held lefties to a .137 batting average with one extra-base hit in his 20 career big-league starts. It would obviously make sense to go as right-handed-heavy as possible in that game. It could mean Bohm starts at first with Harrison at third and Sosa in center field. Sosa got his first regular-season reps in center on Wednesday after the Phillies pinch-hit for hitless Cristian Pache late in the game.
The season is just a week old and the Phillies have already been ravaged by injuries. They knew they'd be without Bryce Harper for months as he recovers from Tommy John surgery, but in spring training they also lost Rhys Hoskins to a season-ending torn ACL and Andrew Painter and Ranger Suarez to elbow injuries. Depth pitchers Cristopher Sanchez (triceps) and Nick Nelson (hamstring) are also hurt, which has resulted in the Phillies moving reliever Matt Strahm into the rotation and having no traditional long man in their bullpen. They were saved earlier this week when Andrew Vasquez surprisingly went through 2⅓ innings in mop-up duty.