Phillies' Whit Merrifield: Back on bench Wednesday

Merrifield is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Mets.

With Bryce Harper (migraine) and Kyle Schwarber (back) both missing time in recent days, Merrifield was one of the main beneficiaries. He started in seven of the previous eight games while manning three different positions, but Merrifield provided just three hits over 32 at-bats over that stretch to bring his batting average down to .188. Both Harper and Schwarber are simultaneously in the lineup for the first time since last Friday, so Merrifield will retreat to the bench and will most likely be in store for a reduction in playing time moving forward.