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Phillies option Luis Garcia to triple A to make room for Nick Pivetta

LOS ANGELES - The Phillies made room for Nick Pivetta on Saturday night by optioning Luis Garcia to triple A.

Pivetta will start on Sunday in the series finale against the Dodgers. Garcia allowed a two-run double on Friday night in his final appearance before being moved. The move comes just a little more than two weeks after Garcia was promoted from triple A. He was optioned four times last season to triple A.

The decision to demote Garcia allows Mark Leiter Jr. to stay with the Phillies. He needed just 12 pitches on Friday night to retire the three batters he faced in his major-league debut. The 26-year-old righthander is a converted starter and could carve a role as the team's long reliever. Leiter allowed one run in 5 1/3 innings this season at triple A before being promoted.

"Good to see Leiter get in there," manager Pete Mackanin said after Friday night's game. "He pitched pretty well. For his major-league debut he was pretty cool, calm and collected. It was nice to see."

Pivetta will face lefthander Hyun-Jin Ryu on Sunday. Vince Velasquez, Jeremy Hellickson, Jerad Eickhoff, and Zach Eflin will pitch for the Phillies in a four-game series against the Cubs at Wrigley Field.