PHOENIX — More than three hours before Saturday’s game in the desert, Howie Kendrick walked to right field with a Phillies athletic trainer. He tested his stiff left hamstring with some sprints. The Phillies decided not to play Kendrick, 33, for the second straight night.
“I had him in the lineup,” Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said, “but we just want to be careful.”
Kendrick is Mackanin’s hottest hitter. He doubles as the Phillies’ best trade chip, and with a little more than a month until the July 31 trade deadline, that shadow grows. The Phillies do not have a Cole Hamels to deal this July, but it’s almost certain they will not stand pat like last July.