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Brandon Marsh scratched from Phillies lineup with shoulder inflammation

Brandon Marsh is day-to-day. (Gregory Fisher/Icon Sportswire)

Philadelphia Phillies center fielder Brandon Marsh was out of the lineup against tough left-handed starters in each of the last two games. He was initially slated to hit seventh Tuesday night against the Arizona Diamondbacks, but that plan has changed.

Less than 90 minutes before the second game of the Diamondbacks-Phillies series, it was announced that Marsh had been scratched with right shoulder inflammation. Dalton Guthrie started in his place in center field, in an eventual 5-4 loss to the Snakes.

“I was just dealing with some right shoulder soreness — inflammation — and just wanting to get ahead of it and clip it,” Marsh said after the game.

Marsh put up star-caliber production in April, hitting .321 with a 1.032 OPS. However, in May the 25-year-old is slashing just .133/.316/.156 with a underwhelming .471 OPS. He went 0-for-2 after coming on as a pinch hitter in a loss Monday, striking out in both at-bats.

But Marsh says he doesn’t believe that the shoulder inflammation generally has been what’s led to him struggling in the second month of the season.

“No, that’s just baseball, man,” Marsh said. “I mean, you ride the highs as long as you can, try to get out of the lows as quickly as you can. So, it’s just baseball.”

According to Marsh, this hasn’t been bothering him for an extended period of time.

“Not too long, it’s just been very recent,” the outfielder said. “Just a little shoulder soreness and inflammation and I’m just treating it as day-to-day.”

It will be a quick turnaround for the Phillies, who hope to avoid getting swept Wednesday afternoon. Manager Rob Thomson didn’t rule out Marsh getting back in the lineup for the series finale, adding that he was available as a pinch runner or defensive replacement late in Tuesday’s game.