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Phillies

Odúbel Herrera Goes Deep, Flips Bat Against Pirates

Bob Wankel

By Bob Wankel

Published:

odubel herrera

With Scott Kingery and Roman Quinn failing to take the Phillies’ starting center field job so far this spring, Odúbel Herrera remains very much in the mix for the spot — and he is having himself a strong day down in Bradenton.

In the first inning, he opened the game with a perfectly executed bunt single:

He followed that base-hit up with this solo homer to lead off the third inning:

How about that bat flip?

Some will love it. Some will hate it. I think it’s fine, but I also don’t currently possess the capacity to explain why it’s not a big deal, so here is Pirates third base coach Joey Cora on the topic:

Agreed.

Herrera struck out in his third at-bat, but his big day coincides with another quiet outing from Kingery, who is 0-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base.

Kingery is currently hitting just .136 with a .526 OPS this spring. He has struck out in 10 of his 24 plate appearances.

Will Herrera be the team’s Opening Day starter in center? There are both 40-man roster complications and likely public relations backlash for the team to consider, but he appears to be the favorite at this point.

If you are looking for a take on Herrera possibly stepping into the batter’s box at Citizens Bank Park on Opening Day, I wrote this about two weeks ago:

Some people will be appalled. They will boo both him and the organization for allowing the moment to happen like they never have before, while some forgiving fans will approach a possible redemption story with optimism – and each and every one of those fans will be entitled to feel exactly how they feel.

Bob Wankel
Bob Wankel

Bob Wankel covers the Phillies for Crossing Broad. He is also the Vice President of Sports Betting Content at SportRadar. On Twitter: @Bob_Wankel E-mail: b.wankel@sportradar.com

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