That Balls Outta Here
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Phillies Opening Day: Five observations from a disappointing loss

By John Town

ATLANTA, GA - MARCH 29: A general view of SunTrust Park during the National Anthem prior to the game between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies on March 29, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - MARCH 29: A general view of SunTrust Park during the National Anthem prior to the game between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies on March 29, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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ATLANTA, GA – MARCH 29: A general view of SunTrust Park during the National Anthem prior to the game between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies on March 29, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

Interesting lineup decisions

Gabe Kapler’s first official lineup as the Phillies’ manager certainly caused a stir. Odubel Herrera, one of the team’s best players the last three years, was left out of the starting lineup. Aaron Altherr instead started in center with Nick Williams in right.

Herrera was understandably upset about being left out of the Opening Day lineup. However, Kapler explained that the lineup will constantly change due to each matchup; Thursday just happened to be a day Herrera didn’t have a good matchup: [quote via Todd Zolecki of MLB.com]

"“We have four, maybe five, very well-equipped outfielders, if you consider Scotty [Kingery] to be a guy who can go out there and play,” Kapler said. “So we have to look not just at today’s lineup, but through five, six, seven, eight games, and that’s exactly what we did. And we picked out the spots to give our guys the best possible chance to succeed against the matchups that we thought made the most sense instead of looking at Opening Day in a vacuum.”"

Kapler continued, saying that the team’s lineups are more or less figured out for the next several games. He says Herrera will play plenty in the coming week. Finding out who will be playing each day will certainly be an adventure.

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