ALLENTOWN — With his trademarked soaked hair and long beard, Brandon Marsh was quite easy to spot on the field on a warm Thursday night at Coca-Cola Park for Lehigh Valley IronPigs’ fans. Marsh went 0-for-2 with a walk in three-plate appearance while moving well in centerfield at his first rehab start.
“It (hamstring) felt great,” Marsh said after he was taken out of the game in the sixth inning. “It wasn’t on the mind at all, so that’s a plus for my judgment of the game. The at-bats felt good.”
In his first at-bat, Marsh worked the count to 2-2 before ripping a Vince Velasquez slider for a line drive to deep centerfield that was caught shy of the warning track. It was 112.3 m.p.h. off the bat.
“First one was definitely good getting the barrel to it,” Marsh said. “Especially against Velasquez, he can chuck the rock. It was a good first time back on the diamond, and looking forward to tomorrow.”
In his second at-bat, he flied out softly to right field. In his final plate appearance, he drew a four-pitch walk. As in any hitter going through a slump like Marsh, adjustments and extra work is put in in the batting cages.
“I’ve been just keeping it normal,” Marsh said. “The intent has really been the main thing. Just really working on being direct to the ball, just A to B and finishing through.”
The centerfielder says he will not go through with any crazy superstition in hopes of breaking out of the slump, including shaving his beard or cutting his hair that he started growing out since the 2017 and 2018 seasons.
“I’m a little superstitious, but as far as when you’re in a slump, you just can’t think much. Trust all the work you’ve put in. They (beard and long hair) are going to stay. It’s like me asking you to cut your arm off,” Marsh said, smiling. “You don’t want to do that.”
Brandon Marsh
Marsh played five innings in the field, and the plan is for him to be back out in centerfield on Friday, although Marsh is unsure how many innings he will play. Not known to be a slugger at the plate, the 27-year-old looks to continue to get back to some semblance of who he has been in the bigs, hitting .252 across 489 games. He is currently off to a 4-for-42 start at the plate this season with the Phillies.
“I’ll be the first one to tell you there’s been some tough days over the past couple of weeks for me,” Marsh said, opening up about his struggles at the plate.
“I have a great support staff around me that’s picking me up, lifting me up, and helping me. I’m blessed and thankful to be here and just playing the game of baseball. Never knew I’d be playing until I was 27, so it’s a blessing for sure. It can go by in a blink of an eye, so you just have to enjoy it. Guys like Stubby, he definitely keeps me in the fight.”
Marsh eagerly looks forward to continuing his rehab and, without setbacks, can be activated from the IL on Sunday at the earliest.
“I feel fantastic after today. I’m looking forward to going out there tomorrow, going 100%, nothing less. I’m excited.”
Other Notables
Both Buddy Kennedy and Garrett Stubbs took former Phillie Vince Velasquez deep in the game. Kennedy’s homer was a shot to centerfield and 101.8 m.p.h. off the bat. It was his first homer of the season, and Stubbs cracked his second home run of the season over the right field wall, and the catcher has now hit safely in five straight games.
On the mound, Nabil Crismatt posted his second straight quality start, tossing six scoreless innings, allowing two hits, two walks while striking out five. He lowered his ERA to 2.67 through five starts.
Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
