Given how progressive Gabe Kapler has been in his first year as a major-league manager, it's a wonder the Phillies have not yet joined the ranks of teams that are experimenting with using a relief pitcher to begin a game before bringing in a starter in the second or third inning.
The Phillies began having internal conversations about employing the "opener" strategy at least two months ago, but thus far have elected to stick with traditional starting pitchers. And although there are no plans to deviate within the next two weeks, even though their four young starters have all eclipsed their single-season career-high innings workload, Kapler wouldn't rule it out, either.