WASHINGTON — Phillies manager Rob Thomson changed his mind on giving Brandon Marsh a day off.
With left-hander Mitchell Parker on the mound for the Nationals, Thomson planned to have the lefty-hitting Marsh sit on Sunday for Philadelphia’s opening-series finale at Nationals Park. Instead, he decided to reward the outfielder after a strong performance at the plate on Saturday. He’ll bat seventh and play left field in place of Max Kepler, while the glove-first Johan Rojas makes his first start of the year in center field.
“Well, it was going to be Marsh sitting, Kepler playing (in Sunday’s game) yesterday,” Thomson said.