PITTSBURGH — In front of the largest announced attendance at PNC Park since 2015, the Phillies found themselves in a back-and-forth scuffle with the Pirates in the series opener of the Keystone State rivalry.
It was about as loud as a postseason game. And in the Phillies’ 8-7 loss to the Bucs in walk-off fashion, two areas where the Phils could add ahead of their postseason run were apparent — though in markedly different ways.
Arguably the biggest need ahead of the July 30 Trade Deadline is a right-handed outfield bat who can hit lefties.
Right fielder Nick Castellanos has been the only outfielder who has hit lefty pitchers consistently. Center fielder Cristian Pache has been better vs. southpaws than righties but still has only hit .224 against the former, and his positional counterpart Johan Rojas has hit .183 against them. However, both of them are huge assets defensively for the team.
Left fielder Brandon Marsh torched right-handers in the first half, hitting .294 with nine doubles, two triples and nine homers in 187 at-bats. But against lefties, he hit .143 with a .214 on-base percentage, with one double being his only extra-base hit in 49 at-bats.
Enter Weston Wilson.
Wilson, who spent seven years in the Minors before debuting last season, got an opportunity this month thanks to the Phillies’ release of Whit Merrifield, who hit .199 this season and struggled equally against each handedness.
Wilson got the start in left field on Friday, facing lefty starter Martín Pérez. In his first at-bat, Wilson hit a chopper that deflected off the chest of Gold Glove third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes and was ruled an RBI infield hit. But in the third, Wilson left no doubt about what he can do vs. a lefty pitcher, lifting a Statcast-projected 384-foot homer just over the glove of left fielder Bryan Reynolds for a solo homer. He finished 3-for-5 without a strikeout.
