Phillies' Brandon Marsh's positive streak bright spot amid tough series against Diamondbacks

PHILADELPHIA — The Phillies hit the playoffs three weeks ago, and Brandon Marsh hit the bench.

Since then, Marsh has hit just about everything else.

The logic then, a playoff eternity ago against the Miami Marlins, was to lean into the platoon structure. The Marlins would start tough lefties in Jesus Luzardo and Braxton Garrett. Rob Thomson would counter with right-handed hitter Cristian Pache.

And Marsh would wait, bide his time, and try to uplift his teammates from the dugout. He’d inevitably get his chance, and he’s made the most of it, entering Tuesday’s Game 7 of the National League Championship Series on an eight-game hitting streak.

“We have 162 games to pad our stats and make the scoreboard look good,” Marsh said before Monday’s Game 6 Phillies loss. “At the end of 162, if you’re fortunate enough to play like we’re playing, like the Diamondbacks are playing, it’s about the team. It’s not about you at that point. You’ve got to put your pride to the side and win ballgames.”

If there’s a person in the Phillies’ clubhouse whose exuberance is least likely to be dented, it’s the hirsute outfielder. He had carried a four-game hitting streak into the postseason to level himself after a tough September, with two doubles and two homers in his last four regular season outings.

But the numbers still favored Pache against the Marlins. Marsh ended up getting into the first game against Miami, after Pache had supplied an RBI base hit. And Pache again got the nod in Game 2 of the NLDS against one of the league’s best lefties in Atlanta’s Max Fried. Since then, however, it’s been Marsh in left field and batting eighth. He has steadily supplied base hits, starting with a homer and a double in the Game 3 rout of Atlanta. He’s 12-for-29 since the start of that one, a .414 average and 1.107 OPS.

That includes one of only two hits against Arizona’s Game 7 starter Brandon Pfaadt in the Phillies’ limp Game 3 loss. Marsh is also 3-for-5 against lefties, with RBI doubles off Arizona’s two highest-leverage southpaws, Joe Mantiply and Andrew Saalfrank.

“I’m looking at lefties and righties the same right now,” Marsh said. “I want to be in there against anybody and everybody. You always want to bet on yourself.”

Marsh’s manager continued to bet on him, for his plus defense in left and for his bat. Rob Thomson sees Marsh as being in a good period, for a young hitter that can run hot or cold.

“(He’s) not chasing, using the entire field – stuff I’ve talked about all year,” Thomson said. “When does he that, he’s a good hitter, and then he gets on base.”

Marsh’s biggest takeaway from the first two games on the bench had nothing to do with his approach but rather what was behind him. Acquired at the trade deadline last year from the Los Angeles Angels, he has come to appreciate the team around him. No one’s been a bigger cheerleader for Johan Rojas, who has taken over as the full-time center fielder while Marsh has moved to left. Seeing Pache as a credible counterpoint on the corner and contribute to a playoff win gave Marsh confidence in this group’s ability to get to another World Series.

His ability to detach from his personal desires in the wild card round speaks to a trait that the team might just find helpful in a Game 7.

“No one’s bigger than anybody here,” Marsh said. “That’s how we act and how we treat each other. That’s a special, special way to go about it.”