Three players made their Phillies debut on Monday night and two were instrumental in the return over the Mets.
Brandon Kintzler pulls out five, including a big double in the fourth innings in the relief of Matt Moore.
Sam Coonrod scored six outs with three strikeouts and averaged 97 mph with his fast ball.
And Matt Joyce made his debut in a pinch-hit role, appearing after third place.
The Phillies used 22 of their 26 players in their 4-0 start. The only four who have not yet appeared in a match are Chase Anderson, Vince Velasquez, David Hale and Ronald Torreyes.
Anderson, the no. 5 starter, play tonight opposite Mets’ right-hand man Marcus Stroman. The appetizer Matt Moore, no. 4, debuted Monday and looked sharp two innings before unraveling in the next two. He allowed two runs, four runs and four hits with four strokes over the 3⅓ innings.
The Phillies have two tall men in Vince Velasquez and David Hale, so it was surprising to see that none of the nuts get to Moore. It was a big spot in the fourth innings and manager Joe Girardi went to Kintzler, who has a more reliable record. It was certainly a promising sign for the Phillies that both Kintzler and Coonrod showed the ability to walk multiple innings. It just gives them more options in case of a short start.
Anderson is not known for going deep into the game and has scored a similar number of innings per start as Velasquez. So it goes without saying that we could see one or both of Velasquez and Hale tonight. Keep in mind that the Phillies want to keep Velasquez outstretched so that he is a realistic option as an appetizer in case of an injury. Ideally, you do not want him to go from one innings to 60-75 places.
As for Torreyes, he is the handyman here more for his glove and positional versatility than for his bat in pinch-hit situations. His first appearance could come as a late defensive replacement for someone like Alec Bohm if the Phillies have a comfortable lead. The new rule for extra inning reduces the importance of breaking the bank because you may only need a pinch or two in a given match. On Sunday, when Andrew Knapp started behind the sheet, JT Realmuto took a hit in the seventh innings. Under normal rules for extra innings, Realmuto is likely to be rescued there if he has to catch later.
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