MIAMI _ Contrary to popular opinion on social media, Gabe Kapler doesn't come up with the Phillies' nightly batting order by chucking darts at the wall. The lineups might seem random, but there's plenty of thought behind them. And as long as the offense continues to struggle, the manager will keep seeking combinations that work.
Tuesday night brought the Phillies' 114th batting order in their 138th game. For one game, at least, it looked like a winner.
Carlos Santana in the leadoff spot? He began the game with a home run. Asdrubal Cabrera batting fifth? He homered and drove in three runs. Cesar Hernandez in the No. 7 hole? He collected two hits, including a bases-loaded triple.
The Phillies scored as many runs in the first inning (four) as they had scored in the previous 31 innings combined. They jumped all over Miami Marlins rookie starter Trevor Richards and recorded a 9-4 victory before an announced crowd of 7,131 at Marlins Park.
It marked only the Phillies' 10th win in 27 games and the ninth time in that span that they scored more than four runs in a game. But it also moved them to 3{ games behind the division-leading Atlanta Braves, who were on the verge of losing at home to the Boston Red Sox.
And with a victory Wednesday night, the Phillies could win their first series in exactly one month, since their four-game sweep of the lowly Marlins at Citizens Bank Park on Aug. 2-5.
In coming up with the latest batting order, Kapler said he studied the Phillies' pitches per plate appearance over the course of the season. When the offense is going well, the Phillies are seeing a lot of pitches, grinding down opposing starters and drawing walks. But they have averaged only 2.5 walks per game over the past month, down from 3.8 walks per game through the season's first 111 games.
That's what led Kapler to moving Santana into the leadoff spot for the fifth time this season.
"One of the things that we've noticed about Santana, he's been very consistent in (seeing a lot of pitches) all season long," Kapler said. "He's also been very consistent with his on-base. Despite his periods of not getting hits and some periods of maybe not as many home runs, he's been very consistent about getting on base pretty regularly."
Santana actually did a little better than that when he stepped to the plate in the first inning against Richards. He aggressive fouled off the first pitch, then took the next two before launching a low fastball into the second deck in right field for his seventh career leadoff home run.
Talk about setting a tone.
The Phillies loaded the bases on a single, a walk and a hit by pitch, and with two out, Hernandez cleared them by stroking a triple into the right-field corner. With one swing, Hernandez matched his RBI total from the previous 65 plate appearances, to say nothing of giving starter Jake Arrieta a 4-0 lead before he threw a pitch.
It didn't get any better for Richards in the second inning. Santana lined a leadoff single, and after Rhys Hoskins and Wilson Ramos walked, Cabrera hit a two-run double that opened a 6-1 lead. Richards faced 13 batters and recorded only four outs.
The Phillies notched only four hits over the final seven innings, but the damage was already done. And with another rookie right-hander (Sandy Alcantara) set to start Wednesday night for the Marlins, it's possible Kapler will stick with the same batting order for back-to-back games. Then again, if he thinks another combination works better ...
"If you have guys who you run out there every single day in the same spots and they feel good and everybody produces, sure, you run them back out there," Kapler said the other day. "But I think in this particular case, it makes sense to give our guys the best chance to succeed."
In a pennant race, the Phillies will do whatever works.
