The Philadelphia Phillies are hot, thanks to contributions up and down their lineup. Those contributors include outfielder Brandon Marsh, who seems to have possibly rediscovered his groove now back with the big league team.
Marsh, of course, was mired in a dreadful 0-for-31 slump that saw him in serious jeopardy of being sent down to Triple-A. He then suffered a right hamstring injury on April 16 which sidelined him for three weeks. In a short week-long sample size since returning from his rehab stint, Marsh has shown that he really does belong in the big leagues.
Brandon Marsh's injury reset has him playing like a man with something to prove
Across six Triple-A rehab games with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, Marsh finally saw some of his balls find grass, going 6-for-20 for a .300 average. His stint included an injury scare, as Marsh was removed from a game on April 27 after re-aggravating his right hamstring. He returned to the Phillies' lineup for a crucial early-season series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, in which the Phillies took two out of three games.
In his first at-bat back in the majors in weeks, Marsh grounded an RBI double down the right-field line to snap his hitless drought. Since then, he's gone 5-for-11 heading into Friday's action, surpassing his pre-IL stint hit total of four.
His RBI double versus Arizona was a preview of what was to come in the Phillies' series finale against the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday. The Phillies rallied back from four runs down to win 7-6 in extra innings to sweep the Rays, thanks to Marsh's go-ahead double in the 10th inning.
“It feels good to contribute, to help the boys out a little bit,” Marsh said after the game, per MLB.com's Todd Zolecki. “I’m just taking it day by day, at-bat by at-bat, and just ride with my guys here. They all got my back and I got theirs, so we’ll just keep stepping that way.”
Marsh has been splitting playing time in center with Johan Rojas since returning, and the Phillies hope the duo can continue their production at the bottom of the order. Phillies fans are diehards who notoriously aren't afraid to voice their criticisms when players are struggling. That's why this hot stretch has to feel extra rewarding for Marsh, who was hard on himself during his disappointing start.
After Thursday's win, Marsh was interviewed on the NBC Sports Philadelphia broadcast. When asked by Ruben Amaro Jr. if he did anything to change his thought process while rehabbing, Marsh responded that he was just "Relaxing and playing baseball."
The Phillies hope he continues to relax at the plate, as they still have high expectations for the 27-year-old moving forward.