J.T. Realmuto leads off, Bryce Harper bats second in Phillies loss

MIAMI — The top of the Phillies lineup looked quite different heading into their 11-3 loss the Marlins on Sunday afternoon. Manager Joe Girardi kept catcher J.T. Realmuto in the leadoff spot, but moved Kyle Schwarber down to bat fifth; he also moved Bryce Harper to second, and Nick Castellanos to third. The final product looked like this:

Girardi says that this lineup is a configuration that we could see moving forward. He wants to try to separate Harper and Schwarber by more than one player, and likes Realmuto in the leadoff spot, because he’s been hitting the bat well and is a good baserunner.

“I think ironing out the leadoff hitter is important,” he said, “but we’ve liked what J.T. has done. And I think Segura is always an option there on days where J.T. doesn’t play.

“We’ve talked about [Realmuto’s] baserunning abilities. And obviously you’ve got two guys behind him that hit 80 doubles last year. And he’s going to score on most doubles. He’s a guy that can steal bases. He’s not a guy that you expect to play 150 games, so we’ll have to adjust to that, but we like where he’s at.”

Harper traditionally hasn’t fared as well batting second as he has elsewhere in the lineup. Over 211 games, he’s hit .249/.329/.448 in the two-hole, and .285/.411/.545 in the three-hole, where he’s batted for the majority of his career (759 games).

“I don’t want him to do anything different [in the two-hole],” Girardi said. “I want him to be who he is, and there are a lot of top hitters in the lineups around the league who hit second. It gets him 18 more at-bats per season, which is obviously good for us and good for him. And without a pitcher hitting ninth, there will be a lot of opportunities for him to drive in runs.”

The reshuffled lineup seemed to work for Harper and Schwarber, at least. Harper went 3-for-5 and hit a solo homer. Schwarber had two hits, including a solo homer of his own.

Infielder Alec Bohm, the Phillies’ hottest hitter right now, was notably absent from the starting lineup on Sunday. He started on Saturday at DH, knocking in three runs on two hits. He hadn’t played a game at third base since April 11 against the Mets, when he committed three errors, but he entered at the position in the bottom of the seventh on Sunday.

When asked about whether there has been any consideration given to anticipation building as more time passes since Bohm made a start at third base, Girardi said there has.

“As I said yesterday, we’re getting close to putting him back there,” Girardi said. “It’s really close now.

“Again, he went through a really difficult time. The different thing, this year, is we have some options. So we’re just giving him some time. But I’m confident he’s going to do the job.”

Outfielder Odúbel Herrera played seven innings in a game at the Phillies complex in Clearwater, Fla., on Saturday. He will DH on Sunday and join the Phillies’ triple-A club at Lehigh Valley in the coming days. Girardi said it’s possible that Herrera could rejoin the big league club during the next homestand.