Overview
- Trea Turner returned to the Phillies’ lineup batting leadoff on Wednesday, June 17, after sitting out one game with a wrist bruise sustained when he was hit by a pitch.
- Interim manager Don Mattingly used Turner’s day off to move him back to the top of the order and said he believes Turner can pressure pitchers and set the table for the middle of the lineup.
- Turner has struggled this season with a .216 batting average, roughly a .595 OPS, and a 22.7% strikeout rate, numbers that prompted Mattingly to try him in the No. 2 spot earlier this year.
- The Phillies’ offense produced poorer metrics while Turner hit second, ranking roughly 20th in scoring, 25th in OPS and 27th in wRC+ over that stretch, which influenced the decision to revert the order.
- The club is betting on Turner’s 2025 batting title form to re-emerge and on lineup balance that keeps Schwarber seeing strikes; if Turner does not rebound the team may have to revisit how to allocate plate appearances among its top hitters.