Philadelphia Phillies manager Gabe Kapler caught a majority of those who follow the team off-guard when he elected to start Aaron Altherr in center field over Odubel Herrera on Opening Day a season ago. The Phillies will again face the Atlanta Braves on Opening Day in 2019, but it doesn’t appear any surprises are coming in the second-year manager’s lineup Thursday.
With the club back in Philadelphia, Kapler told the collective media, which included MLB.com‘s Todd Zolecki, that while things can change, the expectation is this will be the Phillies Opening Day lineup:
- Andrew McCutchen, left field
- Jean Segura, shortstop
- Bryce Harper, right field
- Rhys Hoskins, first base
- J.