It initially looked like Philadelphia Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly’s aggressive chess match had backfired. But two innings later, baseball’s unpredictable script flipped beautifully.
During Saturday night’s high-stakes clash against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Mattingly faced a high-leverage decision in the sixth inning. With the dominant Dodgers lefty Alex Vesia brought in to face Bryce Harper, Mattingly anticipated the platoon advantages and opted to yank left-handed breakout star Brandon Marsh early, inserting right-handed bat Edmundo Sosa into the lineup slot, News.Az reports, citing MLB.
The immediate result was a dud: Sosa struck out to end the frame.
Because the substitution happened so early, however, Mattingly knew that specific spot in the order would inevitably come around again late in the game. That faith was rewarded in the top of the eighth. Facing elite Dodgers reliever Tanner Scott with a runner on, Sosa stepped up for his second plate appearance of the night and absolutely crushed a dramatic, second-chance, go-ahead two-run home run.
The late-game blast erased a 3-1 Dodgers lead, capping off a thrilling three-run rally that propelled the Phillies to a 4-3 comeback victory and snapped Los Angeles’ six-game winning streak. What began as a highly questioned, mid-game benching of a red-hot hitter ultimately turned into the strategic masterstroke that secured the win.
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