PHILADELPHIA -- Luis Arraez isn't your typical cleanup hitter.
So you can't blame Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly for initially debating the merits of putting the newcomer Arraez in the leadoff spot and reigning NL home run champion Kyle Schwarber in the No. 4 spot. Mattingly, however, ultimately settled on Schwarber hitting leadoff and Arraez hitting cleanup.
His reasoning was simple enough: It's impossible to predict what situation your No. 4 hitter will be facing when he steps to the plate.
Maybe there will be a couple of guys on base and you need a timely hit to drive them in. Or maybe the bases will be empty and you could use a home run.
As it turns out, Arraez can do both.
In his Phillies debut on Tuesday night, each of Arraez's first two at-bats came with two runners on base -- and he recorded an RBI knock in both.
On Wednesday, though, Bryce Harper grounded into a double play to end the first inning with Arraez on deck. So when he stepped to the plate to lead off the second, the Phillies' new second baseman had to find a different way to drive in a run -- and he did exactly that.
Arraez smashed a ball off the right-field foul pole for his first home run as a Phillie and just his fifth of the season. He walked a few steps down the line as he waited to make sure the ball stayed fair before unleashing an epic bat flip and peering toward the Phillies' bench as he broke into his home run trot.
Arraez was then mobbed by his teammates upon returning to the dugout.
"That’s why I’m here," Arraez said after Tuesday's 5-0 victory. "To enjoy the game and to try to do something special for the guys, and especially for the fans, too."
Arraez later stepped to the plate in the bottom of the 10th inning with Harper on first base, two outs and a chance to be the hero for the second time in as many nights. Harper, though, was thrown out trying to steal second to send the game to the 11th.
By the time Arraez returned to the plate to lead off the bottom of the 11th, the Phillies had fallen into a six-run hole en route to a 10-4 loss.