Rotation questions loom as Spencer Turnbull exits Phillies’ win with injury

Final: Phillies 6, Tigers 2

Right-hander Spencer Turnbull’s return to Detroit ended early, putting the Phillies’ starting pitching situation in question.

The former Tiger was reinserted into Philadelphia’s rotation for Wednesday’s three-game series finale, but exited the 6-2 victory at Comerica Park after three innings with right shoulder soreness. Center fielder Brandon Marsh went 4-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs as the Phillies earned a series win.

Turnbull allowed just one run in his three innings on a homer from former Phillie Matt Vierling, throwing only 36 pitches before he was removed. After six strong starts to begin the season, Wednesday was Turnbull’s first outing back in the rotation in place of Taijuan Walker, who was placed on the 15-day injured list this past weekend. That leaves the Phillies (53-27) without a clear candidate for the fifth spot in the rotation if Turnbull has to miss time.

RIght-hander Michael Mercado was called up from Triple-A for Walker and made his major-league debut on Monday. He had been used in the rotation and as a reliever in Lehigh Valley, but isn’t stretched out like a traditional starter. There are no other starting candidates in the minors that particularly stand out on a struggling IronPigs pitching staff.

Whether Turnbull can pitch his next outing or not, the Phillies won’t need to worry about that spot in the rotation in their next series, a four-game set against the Marlins at Citizens Bank Park. It’ll come back up as they follow that series by heading to Chicago to face the Cubs for three games on July 2.

In a Tigers bullpen game, Marsh broke a 1-1 tie with his first home run since late April in the top of the fourth inning, a two-run blast to left-center field. He then put the Phillies up 5-1 in the fifth on a two-run single. David Dahl added another run in the eighth on a sacrifice fly.

Following Turnbull’s exit, the Philadelphia bullpen pieced together five shutout innings as Gregory Soto, José Ruiz, Matt Strahm, Orion Kerkering and Jeff Hoffman each pitched a scoreless frame. That set up José Alvarado to take the ninth. He allowed one Tigers run before wrapping up the series without much stress.

Highlights

• Marsh went oppo on this shot.

• And he just continued to hit.

Notes

• Marsh now has four four-hit games in his career, one in each season of his career.
• The left-hander Soto has tossed seven scoreless outings in a row and has a 2.16 ERA since the start of May.

Ticket IQ Next Game

• Thursday, June 27 vs. Miami Marlins at Citizens Bank Park
• 6:20 p.m. Eastern
• TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
• Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
• Spanish Radio: WTTM 1680

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