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It's not often that Philadelphia Phillies utility player Edmundo Sosa gets a look in the outfield. He did on Tuesday against the Atlanta Braves, however, and made the most of the opportunity (GameTracker). 

Indeed, Sosa wasted little time making an impact in what was his first career start in left field. With two down in the bottom of the first, he made this catch to rob Marcell Ozuna of a home run:

Sosa, 29, entered Tuesday having played a total of 6 1/3 innings in the outfield throughout his big-league career. The only time he saw action in left field -- before Tuesday -- was back in 2022, when the Phillies plugged him in for three total innings. He recorded one putout. Otherwise, Sosa has logged almost all of his action on the infield, bouncing between shortstop and second and third base.

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Matt Snyder
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Sosa has been swinging a hot bat to begin the season. In six games to date, he was hitting .550/.571/.750 (273 OPS+) with four doubles and six runs batted in. The Phillies experimented with Sosa in the outfield during spring training, hoping that he could provide them with a right-handed alternative for their lefty-heavy outfield -- on most days, the Phillies start Max Kepler and Brandon Marsh; on Tuesday, with National League reigning Cy Young Award winner Chris Sale (a lefty) on the mound, they turned to Sosa and fellow righty Johan Rojas.

But it wasn't all smooth for Sosa out in left. Sosa and Rojas later combined for a gaffe worthy of a blooper reel, allowing Austin Riley to "double" on a ball that should have been caught:

"I'm going to be playing my game and playing like myself, giving 100% effort and just trying to get a win for the team in whatever they need me to do," Sosa told reporters recently through an interpreter. "We've got to keep working hard, and we've got to keep trusting our ability to go out and perform in the best way."

At least for one play on Tuesday night, it appears Sosa has both the right mindset and the right skill set to get the job done on the grass.