Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson says Kyle Schwarber will remain the leadoff hitter for the foreseeable future.
Jon Ritchie asked Thomson what it would take for the surging Trea Turner to step into that leadoff role.
"Probably Schwarber to get hurt," Thomson admitted on Wednesday's 94WIP Morning Show.
"[Schwarber] is going to stay there for awhile. He gets on base, he's a threat from the first pitch of the game so he kind of gets the other team on their heels a little bit. Obviously, the power is there. The other thing that comes into play is the backend of our lineup is really getting on base. So then you turn it over to the top and now you've got this power guy. He's leading off really once a game, after that he becomes just part of the lineup. That's where I'm at with it. Ever since we've put him back in the leadoff spot we've won and that's the bottom line."
Since the standing ovation game on August 4th, Turner has been red hot hitting safely 15 of the next 17 games, including a huge walk off last night. He raised his average from .236 to .251 over that span.
Schwarber has been consistently hitting for power once again this season, as he has 33 home runs and 80 RBIs, despite hitting just .184. However, he does have a .330 on base percentage, thanks to his 96 walks.
After two straight wins over the Giants, the Phillies now have a 3.5 game lead on the Chicago Cubs for the top wildcard spot in the National League.
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