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Odubel Herrera makes another baserunning mistake

He got picked off third base by Yadier Molina. “I’m not pleased about it,” Pete Mackanin said.

Odubel Herrera left the Phillies frustrated for the second straight day Thursday by making a baserunning miscue at third base.

Herrera was picked off third in the fourth inning by Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina. Herrera did not see Molina's throw in time and was late getting back to the bag. He later did not run from second base on a full count with two outs.

"I can't say that I was happy about either one," manager Pete Mackanin said. "Now, when he was on third base, I'll say one thing, he was running contact. And when you're running contact, you're susceptible to getting picked off by a catcher, especially with a lefthanded hitter up. You have to be aware of that, they're taught to be aware of that. He just didn't take that first hard step back. And that deters the catcher from throwing to third base. It happened. I'm not pleased about it."

Mackanin said he considered benching Herrera on Thursday after he ignored third-base coach Juan Samuel's stop sign on Wednesday night. Herrera ran past Samuel and was thrown out at home by a wide margin. Herrera represented the winning run in the ninth inning of a game the Phillies went on to lose. He was lucky that Thursday's mistake did not carry the same weight.

Pete says, Pat says

Pat Neshek needed just five pitches to record a double play and end the eighth inning. Manager Pete Mackanin said he asked Neshek if he could pitch the ninth and Neshek said "he would rather not" and "he didn't feel like he had it." Neshek said later that he was never asked to pitch the ninth.

"We've been used a lot this week," Neshek said. "I was kind of hoping that I might get a day today. But I understand the state of the bullpen. You have to suck it up and go out there."

It was the second straight day in which Neshek and Mackanin appeared to have a miscommunication. Mackanin said after Wednesday's game that he did not use Neshek because the pitcher told him he was sore and unavailable. Neshek said afterward that Mackanin told him before the game that he had the day off.

"He gave me the off day when I showed up," Neshek said Thursday about the previous night. "I don't know. You guys are making a big deal out of it."

Leiter to start

Mark Leiter Jr. will start for the Phillies on Friday as they open a four-game series in Arizona. It will be Leiter's first major-league start after making 12 appearances this season out of the bullpen. The righthander takes the place of Jerad Eickhoff, who was placed on the disabled list Tuesday with back soreness. Eickhoff will likely miss more than one start. The Phillies will have to free a spot on the 25-man roster to make room for Leiter.