Phillies hope repetition is yielding improvement for Odúbel Herrera

In deciding on the last day of spring training not to put Odúbel Herrera on the opening-day roster, Phillies officials explained that he needed more at-bats in the minor leagues after going 20 months without playing almost at all.

He wound up getting all of 30 at-bats in alternate-site exhibition games before the Phillies came calling.

Herrera finally picked up a cluster of hits this week, including a three-run home run Friday night in Atlanta, after a brutally unproductive return to the majors. It’s worth wondering if his apparent improvement is the result of adjustments made in consultation with hitting coach Joe Dillon or simply getting back into the flow of playing on a regular basis for the first time in two years.

“I definitely think it’s a combination of both,” Phillies manager Joe Girardi said Saturday. “Joe just felt like with a few days work he was getting closer and closer and closer. I think we saw it on Thursday before we left home, and then we saw it [Friday]. I mean, he hasn’t had a lot of at-bats since 2019. He just hasn’t. So, I think it’s a combination of both.”

The Phillies called up Herrera on April 26 to be their fourth center fielder after neither Adam Haseley, Roman Quinn, nor Mickey Moniak held the job. He went hitless in 12 at-bats and was 2-for-24 and slipping below Quinn on the center-field depth chart when Quinn went on the injured list Wednesday after needing nine stitches to close a gash on his right index finger.

Since then, Herrera was 4-for-10 entering Saturday night’s game against the Braves. He took Atlanta’s Charlie Morton deep in the first inning Friday night for his first major-league homer since April 8, 2019, a span of 760 days, and marked the occasion with an appropriately emphatic bat flip.

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“As soon as I hit the ball hard, I don’t know, I just throw the bat,” Herrera said Friday night. “That’s natural.”

Girardi said Herrera’s work with Dillon has focused on “the direction of his weight.” In layman’s terms, Herrera said he’s “using more of my legs to hit.”

“He wasn’t going through the ball. He was getting stuck a little bit,” Girardi said. “Joe D. has so many drills for so many different issues with people. I’m amazed at all the stuff that he’s able to come up with and get people to feel the correct method, things that you would never think about.”

It remains to be seen whether Herrera simply had a few good days or if he has turned the corner. The Phillies continue to seek more offense from center field. Including Herrera’s mini-surge, Phillies center fielders were 15-for-108 (.139) with a .218 on-base percentage and .459 OPS entering play Saturday night.

For now, the job belongs to Herrera. Quinn isn’t eligible to come off the injured list until at least next weekend, and the Phillies want Moniak to continue his development at triple-A Lehigh Valley. It’s possible that Scott Kingery could get a start next week against Washington Nationals lefty Jon Lester, but Herrera will see the bulk of the playing time, which may be exactly what he needs.

“I think he played one winter-ball game [before getting injured], probably had 50 at-bats in spring training, and another 50 at the alternate site,” Girardi said. “And I’m not so sure that is the easiest place to have an at-bat because some of them are just kind of like intra-squads. We’ve just seen better swings and the work in batting practice. We felt like it was coming.”

In accordance with Atlanta and Georgia guidelines, the Braves opened Truist Park to 100% capacity for the first time this season Friday night and announced a crowd of 38,952. It marked the first time in 33 games that the Phillies played in front of more than 21,000 fans.

“It was really good to see so many people in a baseball park,” Girardi said. “It just signifies that maybe we’re getting closer to the end of this. At least I know we’re a lot better dealing with COVID. But we’re getting near the finish line, which has been a long time coming.”

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Rhys Hoskins got a breather after playing 16 consecutive days and going 0-for-4 with four strikeouts Friday night. Lefty-hitting Brad Miller started at first base against Braves right-hander Ian Anderson. ... Aaron Nola is scheduled to start on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball against Braves right-hander Huascar Ynoa. Asked for a comparison to Nola’s curveball, Girardi turned on the way-back machine. “How about Dennis Martinez?” he said, referring to the 245-game winner for five teams, mostly the Orioles and Expos. “He had some kind of curveball. I remember I didn’t like Kevin Gross’ either. That trip one time got me sent down [in 1989] going through Montreal and New York. I do remember those curveballs pretty well.”