PHILADELPHIA — Phillies rookie Justin Crawford had a solid debut series in the big leagues, going 3-for-9 in his first three games. He won’t be in the lineup for the first game of his second series.

Crawford will be on the bench when Philadelphia takes on left-hander Foster Griffin and the Nationals on Monday night at Citizens Bank Park as part of a planned strategy by manager Rob Thomson.

“Just to give him a little reprieve from all these left-handed starters,” Thomson said. “But he handles lefties pretty good normally.”

Crawford, the 22-year-old left-handed-hitting center fielder, started Sunday’s series finale against Rangers lefty Mackenzie Gore. He recorded the Phillies’ first hit of the game against Gore on an infield single to lead off the bottom of the sixth. Thomson inserted Dylan Moore to hit in place of Crawford against left-handed reliever Robert Garcia in the ninth inning of the 8-3 Phillies loss.

With Griffin, a 30-year-old making his first big-league appearance since 2022, on the mound, the Phillies (1-2) will keep their righty platoon bats on the field with Otto Kemp in left field and Edmundo Sosa at second base. Catcher J.T. Realmuto will rest for a game in favor of backup Rafael Marchán, and Brandon Marsh will play over Crawford in center field, despite Crawford hitting .376 versus lefties in Triple-A last season.

Marsh plays a better left field than center and batted just .197 against left-handers in 2025. He has three strikeouts in three plate appearances versus lefties so far this season. But he’s picked up three hits and two doubles in nine total at-bats to start the year.

“I always have confidence in him, to tell you the truth,” Thomson said of Marsh. “Like any lefty, he’ll go through ebbs and flows over a season, whether it’s facing a left-handed pitcher, a right-handed pitcher or any pitcher. I always have confidence in him, but he’s had good at-bats. Ever since the start of May last year, he’s been one of the best hitters in baseball. So we’ll give him a shot.”

Thomson’s point might have been overstated, but Marsh did have an .836 OPS from May 1 until the end of last season, third best on the Phillies in that span (minimum 350 plate appearances). Still, he had just a .599 OPS against lefties in that five-month stretch.

At this point, it seems clear that Marsh is not a viable offensive option against left-handed pitching. He’s a valuable strong-side platoon contributor, but he’s overextended in left-on-left matchups. The Phillies would benefit from hiding him against lefty starters whenever possible.

The Nationals have not announced a starter for Tuesday’s game, and right-hander Cade Cavalli will take the hill for the series finale on Wednesday. Crawford said he expects to be back in the lineup on Tuesday, and Marsh will likely be beside him in left field.