PHILADELPHIA -- Just about everything went the Phillies’ way on Saturday night at Citizens Bank Park -- except for a couple of injuries to key contributors.
First, Luis Arraez exited the club’s 12-3 win over the Cardinals in the fourth inning, and the Phillies quickly announced that Arraez had departed due to "lower body cramping." He was replaced by Bryson Stott -- who was not in the starting lineup -- at second base to begin the top of the fourth.
Just a few innings later, outfielder Derek Hill was lifted for a pinch-hitter due to neck stiffness. It was unclear when he sustained the injury, but he was replaced by Justin Crawford in the bottom of the sixth.
Neither Arraez nor Hill were in the lineup Sunday for the Phillies, but it appears that the injuries that forced them from Saturday’s game are not a concern for the club. Arraez replaced Stott -- who exited due to a right foot contusion -- at second base in the eighth inning and flied out in his only at-bat in the Phillies' 6-4 win in the series finale against the Cardinals.
Interim manager Don Mattingly said Sunday that Arraez's issue has been an ongoing one for the second baseman throughout his career.
“This is not something new for Luis,” Mattingly said. “This is something that's been part of his history, where he feels the cramping, then he recovers and it's fine. We're just being careful with it.”
As for Hill, Mattingly said the issue might be related to Hill’s crash into the outfield wall while attempting a catch on Aug. 5, though he’s appeared in 11 games since that frightening incident.
“His neck just got tight,” Mattingly said. “They still think it's remnants of hitting the wall a couple weeks ago; you just never know when that's going to creep back in a little bit. You sleep wrong, you sleep on a bad pillow and you’ve got a bad neck. So we'll see where he's at.”
Arraez’s departure Saturday came shortly after one of his legs appeared to lock up on him while running the bases in the bottom of the third. Arraez took a big turn around second base on an Alec Bohm single before slamming on the brakes and retreating to the bag.
Arraez appeared to limp momentarily, but he remained in the game and came around to score. He went to third on a single by Edmundo Sosa, then jogged home on Bryan De La Cruz's two-run single.
Arraez, however, did not take the field to begin the next inning. The Phillies were leading 7-0 at the time.
Needless to say, the cramping diagnosis was a best-case scenario for a Phillies team that can ill-afford to lose its new second baseman.
Arraez, who was 1-for-2 before exiting, is hitting .311 (23-for-74) in 18 games with the Phillies since being acquired from the Giants on Aug. 3. His third-inning single against the Cardinals on Saturday extended his hitting streak to nine games, during which he batted .432 (16-for-37).
The Phillies acquired Hill in a trade with the White Sox on June 11. The 30-year-old outfielder is hitting .261 with five home runs, 17 RBIs and six stolen bases in 45 games with Philadelphia.