Diamondbacks bat Geraldo Perdomo lead-off, Ketel Marte out of lineup vs. Phillies

Aug 11, 2024, 11:49 AM | Updated: 12:15 pm

Diamondbacks reporter, ArizonaSports.com editor

PHOENIX — The Arizona Diamondbacks threw shortstop Geraldo Perdomo into the lead-off spot for Sunday’s series finale against the Philadelphia Phillies at Chase Field.

Second baseman Ketel Marte was not in the batting order after exiting Saturday’s game with a left ankle contusion. He is considered day-to-day, manager Torey Lovullo said postgame Saturday.

With left-hander Cristopher Sanchez on the hill, Marte would have typically been the lead-off hitter.

Perdomo gets his first opportunity to hit in that spot this season. He played the role in 36 starts last year.

The switch-hitter has been on a nice run from the bottom of the order of late. Since June 29 (12 games) Perdomo is 18-for-40 (.450) with five doubles and a home run.

Sanchez blanked the D-backs through seven innings back in June, and Lovullo was looking for someone to put some stress on him.

“I like his ability to control the zone, he’s gonna make the pitcher work,” Lovullo said of Perdomo.

“Their starting pitcher is very good. He’s got a really good two-seam fastball, slider, changeup combination. We gotta make sure the ball is in the area that we’re looking for. Push it out over the plate, use an all-field approach. Putting somebody at the top in Ketel’s absence to maybe drive up some pitch counts, have some quality at-bats and get on base.”

Against a lefty, Arizona did not start Corbin Carroll after he homered on Saturday in an 11-1 win, keeping an outfield of Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Alek Thomas and Jake McCarthy.

Additionally, Adrian Del Castillo returned to the lineup to catch Merrill Kelly, who was reinstated from the 60-day injured list (shoulder) before Sunday’s game. Del Castillo hit a walk-off home run on Friday and makes his third MLB start.

First pitch is at 1:10 p.m. on 98.7 and the Arizona Sports app.

Diamondbacks’ lineup

Game 119.

🕐 1:10pm
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— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) August 11, 2024