Losers of 18 of their last 22 games, the Phillies are desperate for a spark.
And Pete Mackanin is hoping the bench can revive the Phils' sputtering offense tonight vs. the Rockies.
Maikel Franco, Michael Saunders and Cameron Rupp will all sit vs. Rockies righty German Marquez (2-2, 4.34).
In come Andres Blanco at third, Ty Kelly in left field and Andrew Knapp behind home plate.
Saunders' day off comes a night after he was dropped to eighth in the lineup, where he went 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
Franco continued to struggle in Tuesday's loss, going hitless with two strikeouts. The embattled third baseman is now hitting just .221 on the year and continues to struggle with his plate discipline.
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Rupp, who is hitting .118 over the last week, has more strikeouts (5) than hits (2) in that span. He will be replaced by Knapp, who is off to a solid start to his MLB career. The backup is crushing right-handed pitching with a .847 OPS and 10 of his 11 hits on the year coming vs. righties.
Tuesday will be just Kelly's second start as a Phillie.
Here is tonight's lineup:
1. Cesar Hernandez, 2B
2. Freddy Galvis, SS
3. Aaron Altherr, RF
4. Tommy Joseph, 1B
5. Andres Blanco, 3B
6. Odubel Herrera, CF
7. Ty Kelly, LF
8. Andrew Knapp, C
9. Zach Eflin, P
