Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson said he was caught unaware on Saturday.
“I walked into the clubhouse, and I was surprised to see this new guy,” Thomson said. “I really didn’t know who it was.”
It turns out it was right-hander Seth Johnson, a Phillies prospect who will start Sunday afternoon in the series finale against the host Miami Marlins.
This will be the major league debut for Johnson, who will turn 26 on Sept. 19.
“He’s a nice kid,” Thomson said. “He said he’s ready to go. Just looking at his tape (from the minors), he looks good. It looks like he’s throwing strikes, and his delivery is good.”
The Phillies, who lead the National League East with an 85-57 record, are giving a golden opportunity to Johnson, who was the 40th pick in the 2019 MLB Draft. He was selected by Tampa Bay out of Campbell University.
Johnson has pitched for three minor league teams this season, from Double-A to Triple-A, going 2-7 with a 2.33 ERA. He has made 23 starts and has 83 strikeouts in 88 2/3 innings.
The Phillies saw their six-game win streak snapped with a 9-5 loss to the Marlins on Saturday. Philadelphia will look to get back on track against Miami (53-89), which owns one of the three worst records in the majors.
The Marlins are expected to start right-hander Edward Cabrera on Sunday.
Cabrera (3-6, 5.33 ERA) was supposed to start on Friday. But he was a late scratch — just one hour before first pitch — after he called Miami’s trainer and told him he was going to the hospital due to a migraine.
Fortunately for the Marlins, everything checked out well for Cabrera, who is 1-2 with a 4.70 ERA in five career starts against the Phillies.
The Marlins are 7-9 this year when starting Cabrera, who throws hard but walks too many batters. This season, Cabrera, per nine innings, is walking 5.0 batters and striking out 9.9.
Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said he will start rookie hitter Javier Sanoja at an unspecified position on Sunday. Sanoja made his major league debut on Saturday, getting an RBI on a pinch-hit groundout.
“He can play all over the place — second base, shortstop, center field,” Schumaker said. “He’s a nice piece to add to your roster.”
After the Marlins were embarrassed 16-2 by the Phillies on Friday, Schumaker said call-ups such as Sanoja eased the pain a bit.
“It changes the mood quick,” Schumaker said. “It’s exciting. (Sanoja) has good bat-to-ball skills. We feel he can produce even against some power arms that we face.”
Schumaker said the Phillies will be a “nightmare” for any opponent that faces them in the playoffs. In the meantime, though, the Marlins have a shot on Sunday to split this four-game series, especially if rookie third baseman Connor Norby continues to produce.
Norby went 2-for-5 with a homer and three RBIs on Saturday and has an .846 OPS this season. Norby’s home run Saturday went to right-center field, and he likes going that way.
“I joke that I can’t hit a fastball in the air pull-side, but I’m working on it,” Norby said. “But that was my approach in college. I learned how to go that way better than a lot of people.”
–Field Level Media
