Mercado could make a spot start Sunday against the Athletics, Corey Seidman of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports.
Mercado was moved to the bullpen after being roughed up by Atlanta in his latest start, however, the Phillies have scratched Zack Wheeler (back) from Sunday's upcoming scheduled start. That could set Mercado up to take one turn through the rotation, though he's unlikely to stick in the long term. It's also possible that Philadelphia opts for a bullpen game before heading into the All-Star break.
Turner went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and a stolen base during Thursday's 5-1 win over the Dodgers.
Turner has been red-hot in July, with Thursday's solo homer off Anthony Banda the shortstop's sixth homer in the month. Turner also added his 12th pilfer of 2024, swiping second base after being walked in the eighth inning. The 31-year-old is slashing .348/.393/.529 with nine home runs across 244 plate appearances.
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Phillies' Brandon Marsh: Launches homer in win
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Marsh went 2-for-4 with a solo home run, an RBI triple and an additional run scored during Thursday's 5-1 win over the Dodgers.
Marsh teed off on Landon Knack Thursday, launching a solo homer in the second inning and bringing Nick Castellanos in to score in the sixth frame on a triple off the Dodgers' bulk reliever. Marsh exits the Phillies' three-game series against the Dodgers 5-for-10 with a pair of home runs and six runs. The 26-year-old has a .804 OPS with nine home runs and 11 stolen bases across 261 plate appearances this season.
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Phillies' Aaron Nola: Shuts down Dodgers
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Nola (11-4) picked up the win Thursday, allowing one run on four hits and two walks across six innings against the Dodgers. He struck out nine.
Nola had no issues with the top end of the Dodgers' lineup, holding Shohei Ohtani, Will Smith and Freddie Freeman hitless with five strikeouts. The lone run against Nola came off the bat of Gavin Lux, who went yard to lead off the fifth inning. Nola has generated at least eight strikeouts in three consecutive appearances and has posted a quality start in 10 of his last 11 starts. The 31-year-old owns the second most wins in baseball to go along with a 3.38 ERA across 119.2 innings. However, his 8.7 K/9 would be his worst tally since his rookie year in 2015.
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Phillies' Zack Wheeler: Won't start Sunday
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Phillies manager Rob Thomson said Thursday that Wheeler (back) won't make his scheduled start Sunday against the Athletics, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports.
The 34-year-old had an MRI on his back come back negative after he experienced lower-back tightness during Tuesday's start, but Philadelphia will play it safe and skip the right-hander for his final outing before the All-Star break. Wheeler is expected to be ready to go to begin the second half, though it's unclear whether he'll be tabbed to start during the opening series in Pittsburgh next weekend or if he'll work at the back end of the rotation.
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Phillies' Bryce Harper: Back in action Thursday
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Harper (hand) will start at first base and bat third Thursday against the Dodgers.
Harper suffered a bruised left hand during Tuesday's victory and ended up having to sit out Wednesday's contest, but the 31-year-old slugger is now feeling well enough to return to the field. He went 0-for-4 in his return from a stint on the injured list Tuesday but had slashed .423/.455/.865 with five homers and 12 RBI during a 12-game hitting streak prior to landing on the IL.
Rojas (forearm) entered the game for defensive purposes in the ninth inning of Wednesday's 4-3 win over the Dodgers.
The 23-year-old was held out of the starting nine after being hit by a pitch Tuesday, but Rojas took over in center field at the end of a tight game and bumped Brandon Marsh to left, so the absence appears to have been merely a precaution. Rojas' defense is what continues to earn him playing time -- since returning to the big-league roster at the end of June, he's batting .226 (7-for-31) with a double, two RBI, three steals, seven runs and a 1:10 BB:K.
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Phillies' Jeff Hoffman: Locks down ninth save
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Hoffman struck out one in a perfect ninth inning Wednesday to record his ninth save of the season in a 4-3 win over the Dodgers.
Jose Alvarado was called upon to face Freddie Freeman and the heart of the Los Angeles order in the eighth inning, leaving the save chance to Hoffman. That's been the norm of late, as Hoffman has saves in four straight appearances since June 30, while Alvarado has only one save and one hold during that time. Hoffman's performance has earned him increased responsibility, as he hasn't walked a batter in over a month and has a 1.69 ERA, 0.56 WHIP and 13:0 K:BB over his last 10.2 innings. Manager Rob Thomson will play matchups in high-leverage spots with the left-handed Alvarado and the right-handed Hoffman, but the latter seems the better bet for saves heading into the All-Star break.
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Phillies' Cristopher Sanchez: Nabs seventh win
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Sanchez (7-4) picked up the win in Wednesday's 4-3 victory over the Dodgers, allowing two runs on five hits and a walk over six innings. He struck out five.
The southpaw produced his 10th quality start of the season, and fourth in his last five trips to the mound, on 91 pitches (67 strikes). Over that stretch, Sanchez has gone 4-1 with a 2.73 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and 26:5 K:BB through 33 innings. The 27-year-old has already set a career high with 103.1 big-league innings this season, but he's in no danger of being shut down -- he tossed 149 innings across all levels in 2023. Sanchez will get a breather though, as he isn't scheduled to take the mound again before the All-Star break.
Rojas is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Dodgers after he was removed in the seventh inning of Tuesday's 10-1 win due to an apparent forearm injury, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports.
According to Zolecki, Rojas said after Tuesday's game that he's OK, but the Phillies will give the outfielder at least one day off while he may still be dealing with some residual soreness or bruising to the forearm, which was hit by 97 mile-per-hour Michael Petersen fastball. Brandon Marsh will cover center field in place of Rojas, who had started in each of the last seven games.
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Phillies' Bryce Harper: Won't start Wednesday
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Harper (hand) is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Dodgers.
In his return from the 10-day injured list for Tuesday's 10-1 win over the Dodgers, Harper experienced no renewed complications with the hamstring injury that had previously sidelined him, but he suffered a bruise to his glove hand when it was struck by a Freddie Freeman line drive. Harper was still able to take part in pregame activities Wednesday, so the Phillies could just be holding him out of the lineup as a matter of precaution. Alec Bohm will cover first base in Harper's stead.
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Phillies' Bryce Harper: Nursing bruised hand
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Harper is questionable to play Wednesday versus the Dodgers after bruising his left hand during Tuesday's 10-1 win, Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
A line drive hit by Freddie Freeman caught Harper in a bad spot on his glove hand, and Harper is apparently still dealing with some soreness Wednesday. He will test the hand out in the batting cage before the Phillies determine if he can start. Even if Harper is withheld from the lineup Wednesday, the injury wouldn't appear to be a long-term concern.
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Phillies' Zack Wheeler: MRI negative, iffy for Sunday
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Phillies manager Rob Thomson said Wednesday that Wheeler (back) isn't certain to make his next start Sunday against the Athletics, though an MRI on the right-hander's back revealed no structural damage, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports. "We're going to be very cautious with him... We'll know [Thursday]," Thomson said, when asked about Wheeler's status for Sunday.
Wheeler was pulled after five innings in his start during Tuesday's 10-1 win over the Dodgers due to left lower-back tightness. Though Thomson admitted that Wheeler is still feeling sore, the 34-year-old looks to have avoided a significant injury. Even so, with the All-Star break looming, the Phillies could have Wheeler skip his next turn so that he can benefit from some extended time to heal up from the back issue. The team should provide more clarity on its plans for Wheeler after reassessing his condition Thursday.
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Phillies' Rafael Marchan: Three hits, two doubles in win
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Marchan went 3-for-3 with two doubles, two runs scored and an RBI in Tuesday's 10-1 win over the Dodgers.
Marchan's been red hot, going 8-for-16 with four extra-base hits in his last four games. With J.T. Realmuto (knee) out, the 25-year-old Marchan has certainly made the most of the opportunity -- he's now slashing .313/.353/.583 with three homers, six RBI and eight runs scored through 52 plate appearances. He's likely earned the primary catching job over Garrett Stubbs for now, though Realmuto is expected to rejoin the Phillies following the All-Star break.
