PHILADELPHIA -- Wednesday night provided the first glimpse at how Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly might fill out his lineup card against left-handed pitchers.
It didn't look all that different from the platoon-based lineups that former manager Rob Thomson had deployed for much of his time at the helm.
That included starting Edmundo Sosa at second base over Bryson Stott, just one day after both Stott and Bryce Harper stated their case following Tuesday's victory for Stott to be an everyday player.
“First of all, you want guys that want to play every day," Mattingly said when asked about those comments. "I'd be a lot happier with him wanting to play every day than every time he sees a lefty, he feels like it’s a day off.
"There's gonna be days where Stott plays against lefties, but Sosa has been really good. To me, we’ve got to keep everybody involved over the course of the year."
As it turned out, Sosa provided the biggest swing of the night -- albeit against right-handed reliever Jack Perkins -- to lead the Phillies to a 6-3 victory over the A's. With the bases loaded, nobody out and the Phils trailing by one in the eighth, Sosa came through with a go-ahead two-run single.
The win marked the Phillies' first victory this season in a game in which the opponent used a left-handed starter (excluding openers). They were 0-10 previously.