WASHINGTON — Jhoan Duran’s pain subsided quickly.
A day after Duran took a line drive to the ankle and left the field in the Nationals’ bullpen cart, Phillies manager Rob Thomson said the closer is “good to go” if there’s a Saturday save situation.
How does Duran feel?
“Good,” he said pregame. “A hundred percent. I don’t feel nothing. It’s crazy … like nothing happened.”
Duran received clean X-ray results Friday night and the Phillies’ concern soon evaporated.
“They feel like it hit his ankle, hit a nerve, and he got kind of dead foot,” Thomson said. “He actually walked out to the bus pretty good (last night), and then he came in normal today.”
Bohm likely back for series finale
Two Phillies appear set to return from rib injuries on Sunday.
Aaron Nola will start against the Nationals and Alec Bohm’s rehab assignment is over.
“We’ll probably activate him tomorrow,” Thomson said. “He’ll be flying in here today.”
Bohm’s last MLB appearance came on July 18. He hit 3 for 21 for Triple-A Lehigh Valley with one walk and two strikeouts. Bohm homered on Wednesday and tripled on Thursday.
Slumping Castellanos sits
Over the Phillies’ last eight games, Nick Castellanos has reached base once.
The 33-year-old right fielder has gone 1 for 33 with zero walks and nine strikeouts. His season OPS has fallen under .700. Castellanos’ 88 OPS+ would be the worst in his career for a full season.
Thomson’s lineup Saturday did not include Castellanos. Max Kepler got the start in right field, Harrison Bader in center, Brandon Marsh in left.
“It was pre-planned,” Thomson said. “He swung the bat pretty good last night; he was a lot better. He was lofting some balls to center field, hit a couple of balls hard. Makes a great throw.
“He’ll be back in there tomorrow. … Moving forward, I’m trying to get a good mix of getting all those guys in there, because Nick’s going to get hot at some point and I want to make sure that I know when that is. And those other guys are swinging the bats well, too.”
When asked Thursday about Castellanos’ struggles, Thomson said he’s “just been off balance a little bit.”
“Not letting the ball travel,” Thomson said. “When he’s scuffling, that’s usually what he’s doing. We all know he’s a streaky guy and he’ll get it back. It’s just a matter of when.”
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