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Why Phillies forfeited DH, put Jhoan Duran in batting lineup in key move vs. Reds originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Don Mattingly went deep into his bag of tricks with a bold move on Monday night.
The end result was that the Philadelphia Phillies had closer Jhoan Duran, at least temporarily, in the No. 3 spot in the batting order. They forfeited the DH in order to finish their win over the Cincinnati Reds in the alignment they wanted.
It's not something you see every day. Lineup moves have been simplified in some ways by the fact that there's a DH all the time now in both leagues.
But on Monday, Mattingly needed some extra maneuvering to get the Phillies over the line with a victory.
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Why did the Phillies forfeit the DH?
Essentially, the Phillies lost the DH because they needed their starting designated hitter, Bryce Harper, to play in the field.
In the bottom of the eighth, while trailing by a run, Mattingly pinch-ran Garrett Stubbs for starting first baseman Alec Bohm. That worked out in the first portion of the move, as the Phillies mounted a rally, scored two runs and took a 5-4 lead.
That brought closer Jhoan Duran into the game, but the Phillies now needed someone to play first base with Bohm removed. Harper was the best option.
A player can enter the game from the DH spot, but doing that forfeits the DH itself. So Harper goes from DH to first base, but then the player who Harper replaces in the field doesn't just become the DH -- instead, that hitting spot now belongs to the pitcher.
It's a calculated risk. If Duran closes out the game with no issue, the lineup never gets to the pitcher in the first place.
And if Duran doesn't do his closer job effectively, Mattingly can always pinch-hit for the pitcher like happened for so many decades of baseball history.
Still, it's a funny thing to see the box score with Duran in it, conceptually lined up to hit if the order gets to him.
Mattingly probably made the smart move here. It's just not one you see every day.
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