Aaron Altherr's start in left field Thursday was his fifth in the Phillies' 10 games since his promotion from triple-A Lehigh Valley. Each has come when a lefthander started for the opposition.
But interim manager Pete Mackanin said Thursday that he planned to play Altherr more often "in the near future," and not only against lefthanders. That would mean fewer starts for leftfielder Cody Asche or rightfielder Domonic Brown.
"Possibly less. Not eliminating them, but less," Mackanin said. "We want to see [Altherr]. He had a heck of a good year in the minor leagues, and we like what we see.