April 30, 2016
Dalier Hinojosa began the month as the Phillies closer. He’s finishing it on the disabled list.
Hinojosa was placed on the 15-day DL prior to Saturday’s game with a right-hand contusion. Fellow right-hander Colton Murray was recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to take his place on the active roster.
The 30-year-old Hinojosa was struck in the right wrist (his throwing hand) on a comeback line drive from Washington Nationals leadoff hitter Matt den Dekker in the eighth inning of Thursday’s game. Two days later, Hinojosa said the pain is still bothering him: he can’t grip his changeup or split-fingered fastball.
“It came to the point where it was going to take a few days longer than we expected, so, we didn’t want to go short for four or five more days or whatever it’d take (shorthanded),” manager Pete Mackanin said. “It just made sense to do it now. Our late inning guys, when we’re leading, have been working quite a bit, so we’d like to take care of them right now. If we didn’t make that move we’re putting ourselves in jeopardy.”
Hinojosa has little doubt that he’ll be ready to rejoin the relief corps when he’s eligible to return from the DL on May 14.
“Definitely,” he said. “I’ll be back in two weeks. I’d love to be here right now with my teammates because we’re (playing well) and they need my help. I want to help them. but I understand they need someone else in here momentarily.”
Hinojosa is 0-1 with a 3.27 ERA in 10 games this season. But after blowing a save on Opening Day in Cincinnati, Hinjosa has a 1.69 ERA and has been scored on just once in nine games while racking up eight strikeouts and walking three in 10 2/3 innings.
Mackanin has played around with his lineup in the season’s first month, recently finding success in Odubel Herrera at the leadoff spot and batting his pitcher eighth (the Phillies entered Saturday having won seven of eight games with that alignment). But there’s been one place in the lineup he’s been pretty comfortable with pretty much since Opening Day: having his catcher hit fifth.
Mackanin hit veteran Carlos Ruiz fifth on Opening Day and has had either Ruiz or Cameron Rupp hit fifth, behind Maikel Franco and Ryan Howard, in seven of the last eight games. The Phils may have been unsure what to expect from their catchers after last season, when their catchers hit .222 with a .622 OPS, but the current two-man tandem has been remarkably productive.
Entering Saturday, Ruiz and Rupp had a combined .862 OPS and 46 total bases. Phillies catchers rank second in baseball in both categories.
Only one team, the Kansas City Royals, has as many extra-base hits from their catchers as the Phillies do: 13 in 23 games.
“I wasn’t sure exactly how I was going to line it up and all of that with the two catchers,” Mackanin said. “But I was hoping that if I kept Chooch (Ruiz) well rested, I felt that he’d contribute in a good way. And so far it’s working and it hasn’t affected either guy. They’ve both been doing a good job for us. I’m really happy about that right now.”
Phillies vs. Trevor Bauer. pic.twitter.com/wkYZlSKUY8
— Ryan Lawrence (@ryanlawrence21) April 30, 2016
Rupp, who was penciled in to make his 14th start of the season Saturday, has hit .280 with seven doubles and a .774 OPS. Ruiz, who has started 10 games, is hitting .297 with three home runs and a .381 OBP.
Among MLB players with at least 40 plate appearances, Ruiz’s .976 OPS ranked 21st in baseball entering play on Saturday.
If you dig the sweet sounds of Led Zeppelin, the Carpenters, the BeeGees, and, of course, T.SO.P. (The Sound of Philadelphia), you should probably buy a ticket for 70’s Night on June 3 at Citizens Bank Park, when the Phillies host the Milwaukee Brewers.
Oh, there’s also this: the Phillies will wear this hat and these jerseys for 70s Night (and then again on Sunday June 5, too).
Phillies wearing painters hat, maroon for 70s night on June 3. pic.twitter.com/fy3IOz2kFo
— Ryan Lawrence (@ryanlawrence21) April 30, 2016
One can only hope Mackanin and Brewers manager Craig Counsell can play along and put their own spin on 70’s Night by giving us the King of potential pitcher-hitter matchups: Phillies left-handed reliever Elvis Araujo vs. Brewers reserve outfielder Alex Presley.
(They did face each other in spring training in 2015, when Presley played with the Houston Astros. Elvis struck out Presley.)
Follow Ryan on Twitter: @ryanlawrence21
