Phillies rookie Gabriel Rincones Jr. aims for encore against Marlins

Please forgive Gabriel Rincones Jr. if he seems tired when the Philadelphia Phillies host the Miami Marlins on Tuesday.

The rookie outfielder likely will be on cloud nine for the near future after notching his first career hit -- a home run -- in the Phillies' 7-0 victory on Monday.

"I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight," Rincones said.

The 25-year-old made his major league debut on Friday against Milwaukee Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski, and he struck out twice as part of a 0-for-3 night. Things went much better in his second big-league game on Monday, as he homered off Marlins starter Ryan Gusto and later knocked in a run with a groundout.

"I just want him to be a player," Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly said. "He's not here to be the savior, he's not here to hit in the middle of the order and save us. He's here to be a player and contribute."

On the downside for Philadelphia, shortstop Trea Turner exited after getting hit by a pitch on his right wrist. Mattingly was noncommittal regarding Turner's status moving forward.

"It looks like he's going to be sore, so we'll see," Mattingly said. "See where that goes (Tuesday)."

Miami is hurting in a different sense going into the Tuesday contest after the team managed only five hits in the series opener against Zack Wheeler and a trio of relievers. Wheeler tossed six sharp innings on Monday, lowering his ERA to 2.01.

"If you want to win in the playoffs, you have to be able to beat those types of guys," Miami outfielder Kyle Stowers said. "I think we've done a good job against frontline starters this year. Wheeler was really good tonight and got the best of us. It's going to happen sometimes."

Marlins leadoff hitter Liam Hicks added about facing top pitchers, per MLB.com, "It just really tests you to stick to your plan. There are some guys with their stuff where you know you can get away with not following your plan and still have some success, but with those guys, if you're not sticking to your plan, they're going to expose you.

"It gets the whole hitting group in a good space mentally to embrace that challenge and just try and take it head on."

Stowers and his teammates don't have much time to dwell on the Monday performance, as they will face Jesus Luzardo (5-4, 4.35 ERA) on Tuesday.

The talented left-hander has given up two runs or fewer in eight of his past 10 starts, including a Wednesday road win over the Toronto Blue Jays. He allowed one run over 5 2/3 innings in that one, striking out eight, although he also matched his season high with four walks.

"It was good and bad," Luzardo said. "The walks are obviously very frustrating. I beat myself up about that. I don't like giving free passes, but (I) limited hard contact. The pitch count relatively stayed low until the walks. There's good and bad."

Luzardo, who pitched for the Marlins from 2021-24, is 3-1 with a 2.59 ERA in five lifetime starts against his former team. He gave up two runs in 6 1/3 innings during a victory at Miami on May 3, when he struck out 10 and walked none.

Right-hander Tyler Phillips (1-1, 1.86 ERA) will get the nod for the Marlins. He is coming off a very effective start against the Arizona Diamondbacks, who managed only two hits against him in five-plus shutout innings during a win on Thursday.

Phillips has made five relief appearances and one start against Philadelphia in his career, allowing one run in 9 2/3 innings. He threw three innings of shutout relief in the May 3 game that Luzardo won.

--Field Level Media