The Phillies' opening day lineup is out.
Bryson Stott, who outperformed Alec Bohm in spring training, will make his major-league debut as the Phils' opening day third baseman.
And it is J.T. Realmuto in the two-hole, a batting order spot of interest given the clear preference Joe Girardi showed in spring training to lead off Kyle Schwarber, bat Bryce Harper third and Nick Castellanos fourth.
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SIGN UP HERE Here is the lineup for Game 1 of 162, against Athletics right-hander Frankie Montas:
1. Kyle Schwarber, LF
2. J.T. Realmuto, C
3. Bryce Harper, RF
MLB
4. Nick Castellanos, DH
5. Rhys Hoskins, 1B
6. Didi Gregorius, SS
7. Jean Segura, 2B
8. Bryson Stott, 3B
9. Matt Vierling, CF
Aaron Nola, SP
It would have been interesting to see whether Mickey Moniak got the opening day nod in center field had he not suffered a broken hand in his final plate appearance of spring training. He was so hot at the plate that it seemed like a realistic move against a righty in Montas. The Phillies on Friday placed Moniak on the 10-day IL retroactive to April 7 and recalled outfielder Simón Muzziotti from Double A Reading. Moniak is expected to miss six weeks.
Expectations are high for this lineup, which added two 30-homer bats in Schwarber and Castellanos, hopes for more of the same from the reigning MVP Harper and better health from Hoskins and Gregorius. One of the Phillies' primary offensive issues in 2021 was a lack of production from the top two spots in the lineup, where their leadoff men and No. 2 hitters each had the lowest on-base percentage in the National League. That's expected to change significantly with Schwarber and Realmuto up top. We could also see Segura and Hoskins spend time in the two-hole throughout the year.
The only Phillie with more than one career at-bat against Montas is Castellanos, who is 3 for 9 with two doubles.
The A's team the Phillies face in this opening series stripped its roster down throughout the offseason, trading Matt Olson, Matt Chapman, Sean Manaea and Chris Bassitt and losing Starling Marte and Mark Canha to free agency. The A's open the season with an estimated payroll south of $50 million and about half of what it was to end 2021.
Here is Oakland's lineup:
1. Tony Kemp, 2B
2. Billy McKinney, DH
3. Sean Murphy, C
4. Chad Pinder, LF
5. Seth Brown, 1B
6. Elvis Andrus, SS
7. Kevin Smith, 3B
8. Stephen Piscotty, RF
9. Christian Pache, CF
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