On Monday night, Don Mattingly dug deep into his tactical playbook and made an unconventional decision.
The move temporarily placed Philadelphia Phillies closer Jhoan Duran in the No. 3 spot in the batting order. The Phillies gave up their designated hitter to secure the win over the Cincinnati Reds in the alignment they preferred.
It’s a rare sight. The universal DH has simplified lineup management in some ways across both leagues.
But Mattingly needed some creative maneuvering to push the Phillies to victory on Monday.
Why did the Phillies give up the DH?
In short, they lost the DH because their starting designated hitter, Bryce Harper, had to play in the field.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, trailing by a run, Mattingly sent Garrett Stubbs in as a pinch runner for starting first baseman Alec Bohm. The initial move paid off: the Phillies rallied, scored two runs, and took a 5–4 lead.
That brought closer Jhoan Duran into the game, but with Bohm out, Philadelphia needed someone to cover first base. Harper was the best choice.
A player can move from the DH spot to a defensive position, but doing so eliminates the DH entirely. So Harper shifted from DH to first base, yet the player Harper replaced in the field doesn’t become the DH instead, that spot in the batting order now falls to the pitcher.
It’s a calculated risk. If Duran closes out the game without issue, the lineup never reaches the pitcher’s spot.
And if Duran fails to get the job done, Mattingly can always send a pinch-hitter up for the pitcher, just as managers did for decades before the universal DH.
Still, it’s strange to see a box score with Duran listed in the batting order, theoretically set to hit if the lineup cycles around to him.
Mattingly probably made the smart move here. It’s just not something you see every day.
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