The Philadelphia Phillies closed their series against the Milwaukee Brewers with a 5-1 loss on Thursday, dropping two of three games and turning attention quickly to the next test.
The bigger development from that night was not the score. Second baseman Luis Arraez left after a grim-looking ankle injury while running to first, and he is not in the lineup for Friday’s series opener against the Tampa Bay Rays.
There has been no firm word yet on how long he might miss or how serious the sprain is, only that further evaluation is coming over the final weekend of the regular season.
Interim manager Don Mattingly kept the batting order largely intact and moved Alec Bohm into the cleanup spot Arraez had occupied. Bohm, who had been hitting fifth, is listed at first base, via Underdog MLB.
The rest of Friday’s group around him includes Kyle Schwarber as the designated hitter, Trea Turner at shortstop, Bryce Harper in right field, Bryson Stott at second, Brandon Marsh in left, J.P. Crawford in center, J.T. Realmuto behind the plate, and Edmundo Sosa at third, with Cristopher Sánchez on the mound.
The shift is more than a line on a card. Bohm’s seventh season with Philadelphia started poorly at the plate, then improved over the past two months.
In 152 games and 557 at-bats, he is hitting .253 with 58 runs, 141 hits, 15 home runs, and 88 RBIs.
His slugging percentage sits at .390 and his OPS at .707. After the midseason infield shuffle that followed the arrival of Arraez, Bohm has spent more time at first, a change that has coincided with a steadier second half.
Philadelphia enters Friday at 87-72 and holds the third and final National League Wild Card spot, two games ahead of the Arizona Diamondbacks. The regular season ends Sunday.
If the standings stay as they are, the Phillies would meet the Atlanta Braves in the Wild Card Series next week.
That leaves little room for another prolonged absence in the infield, which is why Friday’s order matters even if it looks only like a one-night adjustment.
Bohm’s late-season form gives Mattingly a familiar bat in a higher-leverage spot while the club waits on Arraez.
Whether the ankle keeps Arraez out beyond this weekend will shape how Philadelphia lines up for the final games and, if they hold serve, for October.
For now, the move is simple: Bohm hits fourth, the Phillies try to protect their slim hold on a playoff berth, and another injury tests a roster already playing out the last days of the regular season.
