PHILADELPHIA — Sean Murphy isn’t quite ready to start a game behind the plate, but Thursday’s win over the Phillies provided an encouraging sign.
Murphy pinch-hit in the ninth inning, his first action since injuring his hamstring Saturday. He struck out looking, though the final strike appeared to be a little low.
“That was good,” Snitker said of the pinch-hit at-bat. “Until we catch him, at least he’s available off the bench now.”
All of that said, Murphy won’t catch Friday’s series opener in Cincinnati, manager Brian Snitker said.
On Thursday, Snitker talked to athletic trainer George Poulis and Murphy. Murphy felt good. Snitker told him not to hurt himself, because the Braves planned to pinch-run for him after his at-bat.
Travis d’Arnaud was in the lineup as the catcher for Thursday’s finale in Philadelphia. And in a way, Wednesday’s rainout helped the Braves.
It allowed them to use d’Arnaud again Thursday instead of Chadwick Tromp, whom they recalled to serve as the backup catcher after Murphy injured his hamstring.
If the Braves had played Wednesday – d’Arnaud was in the lineup – then Tromp would’ve caught Thursday’s game.
Murphy could start behind the plate Saturday or Sunday. He’s stayed off the injured list to this point, which might lead one to believe he’s close to playing.
The Braves could’ve made Murphy’s injured-list stint retroactive to Sunday if they put him on the injured list Wednesday. They did not. And they didn’t do it Thursday, either.
This seems to be good evidence that the Braves believe Murphy will play within the next couple of days.
The Braves are without a backup infielder because they have three catchers on their roster. But if any of their starting infielders sustain an injury, they would need to adjust only to get through that day before making a move for the next game.
This situation also underscores the importance of the Braves having two All-Star-caliber catchers. Earlier in the season, d’Arnaud missed time with a concussion. Now, Murphy is dealing with a hamstring injury.
Yet the Braves’ catching has not suffered.
Ozuna batting cleanup
Braves manager Brian Snitker put Marcell Ozuna in the cleanup spot Wednesday, but the teams ended up not playing. Snitker kept Ozuna there for Thursday.
This was because the Phillies kept Aaron Nola on his day. He was scheduled to pitch Wednesday, so they opted to have him pitch Thursday.
Snitker liked the matchup with Ozuna and Nola. In 44 career plate appearances before Thursday’s game, Ozuna was 12-for-43 with four homers, eight RBIs. He also had a double and a walk.
This is the highest Ozuna has hit in the order all season. He had hit fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth before this.
Rotation for Cincinnati series
The Reds are a red-hot club. They extended their win streak to 11 games Wednesday.
The Braves will see them from Friday through Sunday.
AJ Smith-Shawver – whom the Braves pushed back because of the rainout – will start Friday. Jared Shuster will take the ball Saturday. Charlie Morton will pitch in the finale.
This series looks a lot tougher now than it did three weeks ago.
