Vierling proving to be a valuable utility man
PHILADELPHIA » It wasn’t the big blow in Thursday night’s onslaught against the Braves, but Matt Vierling’s contribution played a part.
The line kept moving in what would be a seven-run second inning thanks to Vierling’s gap-splitting double, which plated a pair of runs. It was the fifth straight hit against doomed Atlanta starter Ian Anderson, on the way to a 14-4 Phillies win. And it was the first of several quality at-bats for Vierling, earning the second-year utility man a start Friday night when the St. Louis Cardinals came to town.
Vierling is not posting eye-popping, can’t-sit-me numbers, batting .242 with three homers and nine RBIs in 95 at-bats. Among the priorities for playing time, Vierling doesn’t carry the cachet of Mickey Moniak or Bryson Stott, both anointed as the Phillies’ future at their given positions.
But Vierling has shown enough in his first 166 major league at-bats to tantalize.
“He’s got big tools,” manager Rob Thomson said Friday. “He can run, he can throw, he can defend, he can defend anywhere, he’s got power. The ball jumps off his bat. He’s a guy. He’s a player with a lot of value.”
The 25-year-old St. Louis native has fairly flown under the radar, given the two high-priced outfield additions to augment the reigning MVP, and the battle between two guys who have flattered to deceive in center field. Instead, Vierling has impressed quietly. He’s played five positions, starting Friday at third base. Without an error in 169 big-league chances, he started an inning-ending double play in the second with a nice snare and two runners on.
He’s filled in against lefties, which he’s hit at a .289 clip. He’s pinch-hit effectively, going 2-for-5, the memorable knock a go-ahead pinch-hit homer in Milwaukee off All-Star closer Josh Hader.
Thursday, in addition to the double, he worked a pair of walks, drove in two and scored twice. With Alec Bohm needing a day off, Thomson saw a chance to get Vierling in there.
“It was good,” Thomson said of Thursday’s performance. “We’ve always thought that he could hit righties and lefties. He just got off to a little bit of a slow start with the righties. But he’s coming.”
The right-handed hitter’s performance against righties is the next frontier. Anderson is an outlier, his reverse splits meaning he’s hit harder by righties than lefties. Vierling is hitting just .200 against right-handed pitching this year and .238 career. But with the Phillies starting six lefties not named Bryce Harper Friday, Vierling’s right-handed stick offers a chance for balance.
Bailey Falter got the start Friday, and it likely won’t be the last time he’s needed.
The lefty fills the rotation spot of Zach Eflin, who got a cortisone shot in his knee after being placed on the injured list. Eflin isn’t eligible to return until July 11, which means at least two looks for Falter.
The lanky lefty has been great at Triple-A Lehigh Valley, with a 4-0 record and 1.53 ERA in six starts. He threw six innings of one-hit ball in his last start June 25 for the IronPigs. He’s 0-2 with a 4.50 ERA in seven appearances (three starts) with the big club this season.
“He’s been throwing the ball well for a while now,” Thomson said. “We’re going to probably keep him at the 85-pitch mark. What we get out of that, we’ll see at the end of the night. He’s been throwing the ball well.”
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To make room for Falter, the Phillies designated outfielder Oscar Mercado for assignment. Mercado, 27, is a second-round pick who the Phillies plucked last week off waivers when Cleveland released him. A veteran of 273 big-league games — including one pinch-hit strikeout Thursday for the Phillies — Mercado is someone the Phillies appeared eager to work with, had the roster math paid off.
Should he clear waivers, the Phillies would love to have him back.
“Whenever that happens, you
always hope the guy gets a big league job,” Thomson said. “But we’d certainly be happy if he went through, because we’d take him back. First, he’s a tremendous person and wants to work and wants to get better. He’s got all this athleticism, he can really play defense, he can really run, he’s hit in the past. There’s some things that our hitting department has seen that we think that we can help him with. If he gets through, we’ll take him.”
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NOTES » The Phillies pregame honored Albert Pujols, the Cardinals designated hitter who will retire at the end of the year. In his last trip through Philly, the team presented him with the “STL” scoreboard tile,
complete with a personal inscription from Ryan Howard. Howard, the St. Louis native with whom Pujols shared three All-Star Game appearances, and Rhys Hoskins greeted Pujols in the ceremony. Pujols is a career .331 hitter at Citizens Bank Park, with 10 home runs and 24 RBIs in 31 games. He hit.350 in the 2011 National League Division Series, when the Cardinals beat the Phillies in five games, their last playoff appearance. … Kyle Schwarber finished June with 12 home runs, 27 RBIs and 1.065 OPS, tops in the NL in all three categories. He was second in win probability added at 1.49, trailing only teammate Rhys Hoskins (1.95). Hoskins hit .306 with 15 extra-base hits, 15 RBIs and 16 runs scored in the month.