Phillies' Edmundo Sosa gets 1st MLB start in outfield; Weston Wilson to begin rehab assignment
The Philadelphia Phillies are finding a way to keep
Edmundo Sosa's "real" hot bat
in the lineup.
Sosa will get his first professional start in the outfield Tuesday night when the Phillies open up a three-game series against Chris Sale and the 1-8 Braves in Atlanta. Sosa will start in left field and bat seventh against Sale.
Johan Rojas will start in center field and bat ninth, with Bryson Stott playing second and batting eighth.
Phillies manager Rob Thomson is stacking his lineup with righties against Sale, who's notoriously tough on left-handed hitters.
In his career, Sale has held opponents to a .202 batting average and .534 OPS. In his NL Cy Young-winning season in 2024, lefties hit just .192 with a .544 OPS against him.
Sosa is 11 for 20 with four doubles and a walk in six games serving in a utility infield role with the Phillies.
After his
fifth multi-hit game
of the season Sunday, Thomson said the club has to "get into the lab and try to figure out some stuff to get him into the lineup." Tuesday offers the team a chance to give Sosa his first professional start in the outfield.
In
Saturday's 3-1 loss
to the Dodgers, Sosa stayed in the game to play center after pinch hitting for Brandon Marsh. Sosa last played center for two innings in 2023 and has, in total, 6 1/3 innings in the outfield in MLB (3 1/3 in CF, 3 in LF).
Tuesday night will be Sosa's first career start in the outfield.
Here is the Phillies' lineup against Sale.
Weston Wilson, who entered spring training in consideration for the Phillies' final bench spot, will begin a rehab assignment Tuesday night in Single-A for the Clearwater Threshers.
Wilson suffered a grade 2 left oblique strain in late February.
Kody Clemens beat out Buddy Kennedy
for the Phils' final bench spot.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
11 minutes ago
- New York Times
England Under-21s reach Euros final after 2-1 win over the Netherlands
England will play in the final of the European Under-21 Championship after beating the Netherlands 2-1 in the semi-finals on Wednesday at the Kosicka Futbalova Arena in Kosice, Slovakia. Two goals from Liverpool midfielder Harvey Elliot ensured that Lee Carsley's side would play in back-to-back finals after winning the competition in 2023. Advertisement The first half ended goalless after Dutch goalkeeper Robin Roefs made two saves to keep out Elliott and Omari Hutchinson in intense heat in eastern Slovakia. The breakthrough came after half-time as Newcastle United's Elliot Anderson drove at the Netherlands back line before playing in Elliott who fired past Roefs in the 62nd minute. Substitute Noah Ohio stunned England with his first touch of the game 10 minutes later, finding the net from well outside of the box to catch out goalkeeper James Beadle at his near post. However, Elliott restored England's lead in the 82nd minute, drifting past defenders before finding the bottom-right corner from the edge of the box to score his fourth goal of the tournament. 'To win is incredible, can't put it into words,' Elliott told Channel 4 after the game. 'Another final, I know I keep saying it but we need to rest, recover, and go again because it's not over yet. Tonight was another amazing experience, really tough conditions once again but the way the lads dug deep, I think we deserve this final. 'It's been really tough preparation-wise. We've had a lot of players that had to drop out because of the Club World Cup, transfer and things like that. 'We want to do it for everyone that couldn't be here and we want to do it for ourselves as well and all of the supporters here to support us and the supporters back home. 'It's just one last push now and hopefully we can be crowned champions again.' England beat Spain 3-1 to earn their place in the semi-finals, while the Netherlands beat Portugal 1-0. They will play the winners of Germany vs. France which takes place later on Wednesday. Analysis from Art de Roche That second half was about Harvey Elliott taking charge. Scoring off both feet, it was the winner in particular that demonstrated the authority Lee Carsley would have wanted to see from one of the two players who was part of the Euro 2023-winning squad. Advertisement Elliott smelt blood as he turned onto his left foot just outside the box, and took full advantage. Having opened the scoring with a powerful right-footed effort he is now the second highest scorer in the tournament with four goals. That should serve him well after admitting he is wary of 'wasting years' of his career by not playing regularly at club level before travelling to Slovakia. Despite waiting late to book their place in Saturday's final, England deserved their win. Carsley's side started fast, with four of their five first half shots coming in the opening 12 minutes. Ipswich Town's Omari Hutchinson, who has impressed throughout the tournament, was key to these efforts with runs around the outside and inside of the opposition right-back leading to those chances. Collectively, the team has grown as the tournament has progressed. They gained much-needed momentum against Spain which carried through to their performance against the Netherlands, and will give them encouragement ahead of the final. (Tomas Benedikovic/AFP via Getty Images)
Forbes
42 minutes ago
- Forbes
Phillies' Decision On Ranger Suarez Looming Over The Season
It's the question hanging over each one of pitcher Ranger Suárez's superb starts: Will he be leaving the Phillies after the season when he enters the free-agent market? Well, it's looking that way, according to consensus opinion. Unless the Phils make him an offer he cannot refuse in the next couple months. But that seems unlikely. It would be a tremendous loss for Philadelphia if Suárez goes elsewhere, considering how dominant he's been this year with a 6-2 record and 2.08 ERA. And in his past nine starts, Suárez's ERA drops down to 1.17 over 61⅓ innings. Since 1969 when the mound was lowered, the only other Phillies pitchers to throw that many innings with an ERA that low over a nine-start span are Cliff Lee (2011) and Hall of Famer Steve Carlton (1972), which MLB writer Paul Casella pointed out. Ranger Suárez becomes a free agent after the 2025 season. (Photo by) Former Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro said on The Phillies Show's latest edition that dropped Wednesday that he would 'preemptively try to sign' catcher J.T. Realmuto and designated hitter Kyle Schwarber who are both free agents post-2025 season. But in regards to Suárez, Amaro says "he would hold off on Ranger until I found out he could pitch all the way through the season and knowing that he is healthy and takes care of himself.' That's been the biggest con against signing the 29-year-old lefty: his durability. Suárez has been on the injured list five times in his career, with three of those instances related to back issues. He missed the first five weeks of the 2025 season due to an injured back. And he's never thrown more than 156 innings in a season. 'I love the guy. I love the way he pitches. I love everything about him. But your best ability is your availability,' Amaro said. However, Suárez has been durable of late, pitching at least six innings in nine consecutive starts, and he's lasted seven innings in each of his past four outings, including a 7⅔-inning beaut on Tuesday against the Astros when he allowed just two baserunners but took the loss because the Phillies failed to score a run. Amaro acknowledges that, if the Phillies wait till after the season to try to sign Suárez and he continues to dominate the way he is right now, his price tag will soar to around a $200-million contract. 'If he finishes off the season the way he is pitching right now, that's exactly what (Suarez's agent) Scott Boras is looking for,' Amaro said while adding that Suárez could get a Max Fried-type deal. This past offseason, the Yankees gave Fried $218 million over eight years. Phillies writer Matt Gelb of The Athletic chimed in on Suárez's status: 'There have been certain assumptions about the 29-year-old lefty all year. He's bound for free agency after the season, and after hiring Scott Boras over the winter, he must be seeking a massive payday that could preclude him from the Phillies' plans.' And if the Phillies fail to sign Suárez before he hits free agency, they know exactly what they will be losing, and so do we — an artist on the mound:
Forbes
an hour ago
- Forbes
Inside Alex Palou's Strategy For His Latest IndyCar Series Victory
Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing Honda celebrates after winning the NTT IndyCar Series XPEL Grand ... More Prix at Road America on June 22, 2025 in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. (Photo by Gavin Baker/Lumen via Getty Images) Lumen via Getty Images Alex Palou is normally one of the most level-headed drivers in INDYCAR. But he admitted after winning his sixth race of the season in the June 22 XPEL Grand Prix at Road America he wondered if Chip Ganassi Racing team manager Barry Wanser's strategy was going to work. Two of the three Chip Ganassi Racing drivers were using a fuel saving strategy including Scott Dixon and Palou. Dixon, however, was two laps short of making it to the finish because Palou's final pit stop was two laps after Dixon took fuel on Lap 38 of the 55-lap race. The maximum laps a car could run on the 4.028-mile, 14 turn Road America road course is 15 laps, unless there is a caution period, which would allow this fuel strategy to work to reduce speeds and save fuel. Palou pitted on Lap 40 and made it to the distance. 'It was tough,' said Palou after his sixth IndyCar Series win of the season, including the 109th Indianapolis 500 on May 25. 'It was a crazy race. I don't know about how it looked from the outside, but from inside, it just felt like there was a lot going on. Lots of yellows, obviously, that were shaking how we were looking. 'We were looking really bad at the beginning, then really good, then terrible, then really good. It was tough to be up there. But yeah, we just had to stay focused on battling against the people that were on our strategy.' But it was a strategy Palou didn't think was going to work and the driver from Spain who is usually affable and cooperative, became downright 'Grumpy.' 'I didn't agree with Barry's strategy called. 'I got to be grumpy for a couple of laps, and then I saw it was working out, and I started saying thank you again,' Palou continued as he looked at Wanser. 'It was interesting, but for sure, we got the win because of the team that we had on both pit stops and strategy. They made it look really good, and HRC that gave us the mileage we needed to gamble and to make it with that stop that we did.' 'Grumpy Palou' Wanser indicated that Palou's general attitude is pleasant and cooperative, so when he heard that his driver was 'grumpy' it got his attention. 'Well, he doesn't get grumpy, so when he is grumpy, I know he's really mad and questioning what we're doing,' Wanser said. 'But I don't know if you were following that race, we didn't know we were on the right strategy until like 10 to go. We're reacting based on what we think is happening. Chip Ganassi Racing Honda team manager Barry Wanser. (Photo by Geoff MIller/Lumen via Getty Images) Lumen via Getty Images 'There was obviously a lot of cautions this race. But we made some strategy changes on the tires during the race that we went against what we all agreed on before the race, so he wasn't very happy about that, but we saw what our competitors were doing and who we were racing, so we had to make that change to be able to stay with them and then beat them. And it worked out. 'Look, today was luck to be on the right strategy because it was hard. There were several different strategies going on.' The pivotal moment the team realized it made the right call came during a caution when the team had to decide to pit, or not to pit. 'I would say just that yellow that we were leading, we were leading, and we pitted, and some people stayed out,' Palou said. 'That was the moment that I would say gave us the win. I mean, we pitted from first. We were leading. 'We had still I would say five laps of fuel to make it, but it was not enough: in case there's another yellow, you're done. So that was a great call. 'I would say the only one that I was a bit like, oh, no, it was just when we went on the second stint on reds. That was only our set of alternates because yesterday I was pushing to try and get the pole, which we didn't get, and kind of put us on the back foot against Christian Lundgaard, Scott McLaughlin and everybody else that was not in the Fast Six. 'I knew it was going to help us during that stint, but it was going to hurt us a lot on the last stint. But honestly, the pace we had today in the 10 car was amazing, and we were able to save fuel even on primaries to be quite fast.' Wanser Questioned His Tire Strategy At The Beginning Wanser admitted one error in strategy was starting the race on Firestone Blacks instead of the Reds, which proved to be ideal for the hotter conditions at Road America despite being a softer compound. Firestone "Red" IndyCar Tires. (Photo by) Getty Images 'I'd say one of the pivotal moments is we should have never started on the Blacks,' Wanser said. 'It worked against us. Quite a few cars around us picked us off. But it ended up being the right call in the end. But if we were to do the race again, not knowing what we know, we probably should have started on the Reds. 'We actually declared primaries, and then other people got involved outside the 10 car stand. We thought about it. We were like, no, we're going to stay with primaries, and then last minute he decided again, maybe we're not making the right decision. 'Alex is a big part of the tire strategy; he's the one driving the car. He was like, all right, I think we need to start on the alternates, and when we set it in, it was like 10:01 but the window had closed at 9:56 or whatever, the 30-minute window. So even it accepted it, we knew, no way, it's not going to happen.' Wanser Knew It All Along As the laps were dwindling, and teammate Scott Dixon remained in the lead trying to stretch his final tank of fuel for 17-18 laps when 15 is the maximum without a caution period, Wanser assured Palou that Dixon would have to pit. Palou had made his final stop two laps after the Dixon, and although he needed to conserve fuel, his fuel number was much more doable. 'We really needed a yellow because we gave him a big fuel number,' Wanser explained. 'We kind of needed a yellow to help us. We got that yellow, but it wasn't enough for Scott and Alexander Rossi because they pitted two laps before us. So, we were already looking at a big number two laps after them, so you could imagine they needed a much bigger number than we did, so even the short yellow didn't help them.' Who Do You Trust? It all came down to a matter of trust between Palou and Wanser. 'He has more information than me, and when I was following Scott, I could see that he was not saving as much as I was,' Palou recalled. 'I was like, 'This guy is crazy; how is he going to do it?' 'But I didn't know. Like I don't have a lot of information. Alex Palou (#10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) driver holds his daughter Lucia and raises a finger as ... More the team lifts their Red Solo cups after winning the NTT IndyCar Series XPEL Grand Prix, Sunday, June 22, 2025, at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. (Photo by David Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) Icon Sportswire via Getty Images "If it was another driver, I would have probably just focused on myself, but I know that Scott can make crazy stuff happen. 'I trusted Barry, but I was like, 'Man, if he gets a yellow, he's still P1 and we're not going to be able to pass him. We were still trying to get that first position on track just in case there was a four-lap yellow at the end and then he was still leading and ending up with a win.' With three different race strategies playing out during the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America, second-place finisher Felix Rosenqvist was one of the few drivers at the end of the race that had plenty of fuel and could run full throttle. Second-Place Rosenqvist Had Plenty Of Fuel But Palou's fuel-saving strategy was too much to overcome, and Rosenqvist finished second, 2.1725 seconds behind the race winner. It was Rosenqvist's first podium finish in a points-paying race since finishing second in September 2023 at Portland International Raceway. 'Yeah, good memories from here,' Rosenqvist said afterward. 'I had my first win here. It's been a couple of good results here in the past. I felt the whole weekend we had good pace and in practice we were rolling well. Kind of messed up qualifying. Tried to do the carousel flat and I lost it, and I started P12. 'It wasn't ideal, but I knew we had good pace in the car. My Meyer Shank Sirius XM Honda was just on rails. There was a lot of strategies going on. We did two black stints in the beginning, and we held on pretty good, and especially in the restarts, it seemed like the blacks were pretty good, and they faded a bit when you got up to speed. But we capitalized on all those yellows, and I think that was to our advantage. 'Then at the end of the race we didn't have to save any fuel, and we had two new reds, and we were just doing qually laps every lap, and that's kind of when we ended where we ended. So, it was really good, and super proud of all the guys. 'It's a hot day out there. It was tough for everyone, pit crew, engineering, and computers and all that kind of stuff. Everything is running hot. Happy we made it to the finish.' But in this race, Palou had the right strategy because his fuel tank was good to the last drop. Alex Palou celebrates his Road America on June 22, 2025 in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. (Photo by Gavin ... More Baker/Lumen via Getty Images) Lumen via Getty Images
