Overview

• Max Kepler, Brandon Marsh and Harrison Bader each homered in Friday’s 9-3 win in Miami, reinforcing their starts against a right-handed opener.
• Nick Castellanos sat for the third time in four games versus right-handed pitching and is expected to get most of his at-bats against lefties.
• Thomson said he will deploy the lineup he believes best positions the Phillies to win, with Kepler drawing right-field starts against righties.
• Kepler is hitting .267/.318/.483 with a 12.1% strikeout rate since Aug. 1, and Phillies outfielders have 15 home runs and a .775 OPS since Harrison Bader’s activation that day.
• Castellanos is in year four of a five-year, $20 million-per-season contract, and reporting indicates the team could explore a trade or even a release in the offseason if his performance does not rebound.