Phillies Notes: Revere back in center; Ruf and Francoeur start

Two days after the Phillies mustered only three hits in an opening-day shutout, manager Ryne Sandberg added two righthanded bats to his lineup.

Darin Ruf, whom fans have long clamored to see get more at-bats, made his season debut in left field Wednesday while Jeff Francoeur played opposite him in right. Ruf batted fifth, serving as the righthanded bat behind Ryan Howard, while Carlos Ruiz, typically the Phillies' five-hole hitter, moved to the two-hole.

A minor injury to opening-day centerfielder Odubel Herrera shifted Ben Revere from left field back to the position he manned for the Phillies the previous two seasons.

Herrera fouled a ball off his left foot in Monday's 8-0 loss and it was "still pretty tender" Wednesday, Sandberg said.

"It's not anything too serious, though," the manager added. Herrera entered the game Wednesday as a defensive replacement in the eighth.

Sandberg cited a more balanced lineup, even against a righthanded pitcher in Boston's Rick Porcello, as a reason for the lineup changes. Sandberg also likes Francoeur's defense.

Ruf, a natural first baseman, had the fifth-highest at-bat total (63) among Phillies in Grapefruit League play but hit only .206 with three doubles, two home runs, and four RBIs.

He said Wednesday he felt he began hitting the ball better in the last 21/2 weeks of spring training.

When Herrera returns to the lineup and Revere shifts back to left field, there may not be as many chances for Ruf to start in left. Sandberg, however, did not shut the door on the possibility that Ruf sees action in right.

"That's an option," Sandberg said. "There's versatility and there's some spots wide open as far as that goes, if a hitter wants to get hot. He has a little bit of history in right field, not a lot, but he actually didn't have a lot of history in left field, and I thought that he's taken to that pretty well. I would say that that remains an option for him."

Reliever Mario Hollands underwent season-ending Tommy John surgery on his pitching elbow Wednesday.

The 26-year-old lefthander had not pitched since March 20, when he reported discomfort.

Hollands finished last season on the disabled list with a similar problem. The typical rehab time after Tommy John surgery is 12 to 18 months.

Righthanders Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez and Ethan Martin, both of whom were ticketed to start the season in triple A, have inflammation in their pitching shoulders and will not throw for two to three weeks. . . . Aaron Nola is set to start double-A Reading's season opener Thursday in Portland, Maine.