PHILADELPHIA -- Phillies manager Rob Thomson finally provided some clarity on Saturday afternoon about the club¡¯s starting rotation plans moving forward.

Spencer Turnbull (2-0, 1.67 ERA) is expected to move to the bullpen to serve as the team's long reliever beginning on Sunday. Cristopher S¨¢nchez will remain in the rotation, with his next start expected to come on Tuesday. Taijuan Walker will start Sunday, and ace Zack Wheeler will move up to pitch on normal rest in Monday¡¯s series finale vs. the Giants.

The five-man rotation will, of course, be rounded out by established veterans Aaron Nola and Ranger Su¨¢rez, who earned the win in Saturday night¡¯s 14-3 victory over the Giants at Citizens Bank Park to improve to 6-0 with a 1.72 ERA. Su¨¢rez matched a season high by allowing three runs, but he struck out six and provided some much-needed length by taking down six innings -- no small feat on a rain-soaked night with the temperature hovering around 50 degrees.

After Wheeler pitched just five innings in Wednesday's 2-1 victory over the Angels and Aaron Nola lasted only four in Friday¡¯s 4-3 win over the Giants, the Phillies¡¯ bullpen had been used heavily in recent days. So much so, in fact, that Thomson had S¨¢nchez available out of the bullpen -- on full rest -- on Saturday night, if needed.

Fortunately for the Phils, S¨¢nchez was not needed on a night when they raced out to a 9-0 lead after just two innings. That allows Thomson to proceed with his intended plan, starting S¨¢nchez on Tuesday and moving Turnbull to the bullpen, where he¡¯ll serve in a variety of roles.

¡°He can do a lot of different things, because he gives you length, obviously,¡± Thomson said of Turnbull. ¡°But he gives us another guy to get on right-handed hitters because we¡¯ve struggled a little bit with that. I have the confidence in him to put him in leverage [spots], so I think for the time being, that¡¯s the way to go.¡±

To Thomson¡¯s point, the Phillies¡¯ bullpen entered Saturday allowing a .754 opponents' OPS to right-handed hitters -- the fourth-highest mark in the Majors. (Only the Rockies, White Sox and Blue Jays have been worse.) Meanwhile, left-handed hitters had just a .655 OPS against Philadelphia¡¯s relief corps.

Still, that doesn¡¯t mean it was an easy decision to take a guy with a 1.67 ERA through six starts out of the rotation.

¡°He wants to start,¡± Thomson said of Turnbull, who will remain stretched out as much as possible. ¡°But he said at the end of the day, he¡¯ll do anything to help the team win games.¡±

Turnbull joined the Phillies on a one-year, $2 million deal in mid-February. At the time, the move was simply to add another depth option, but the veteran righty suddenly found himself in the Opening Day rotation after Walker was shut down with right shoulder soreness late in the spring.

Turnbull seized the opportunity, going 2-0 with a 1.67 ERA and 36 strikeouts over 32 1/3 innings. Though he was two outs shy of qualifying for pitcher leaderboards entering Saturday, his 1.67 ERA would have ranked fourth in the NL behind only Shota Imanaga (0.78), Su¨¢rez (1.32) and Reynaldo L¨®pez (1.50).

So was there any hesitation to remove Turnbull from a starting rotation that entered Saturday with the second-best ERA in the Majors behind only the Red Sox?

¡°There is concern because he¡¯s pitched so well,¡± Thomson said. ¡°But Sanchy has pitched well, too. But there¡¯s always concern when you do something like that. That¡¯s why it¡¯s a tough decision.¡±

S¨¢nchez is 1-3 this season despite a respectable 3.68 ERA. That comes after a breakout 2023 season in which he posted a 3.44 ERA over 19 outings (18 starts). Walker, meanwhile, pitched relatively well through the first six innings of his season debut last Sunday before being tagged for a three-run homer in the seventh that ended his day.

With Turnbull pitching so well and S¨¢nchez seemingly earning a spot with his work over the past year, was there any consideration to moving Walker -- who did not throw a single pitch in the 2023 postseason -- to the bullpen?

¡°Not for me,¡± Thomson said.

And while the Phillies deployed a six-man rotation this past week after Walker¡¯s return, it¡¯s not something the club wants to do long term -- and for good reason.

Look no further than Wheeler, who went 6-1 with a 2.09 ERA in 11 starts on regular rest last season compared to 7-5 with a 4.46 ERA in 21 starts on extra rest. He¡¯s made it clear his preference is to pitch every fifth day.

In the end, Thomson would gladly rather have too many options than not enough.

¡°It¡¯s a great problem to have,¡± Thomson said. ¡°And a tough problem to solve; tough decision to make.¡±

And the one to send Turnbull to the bullpen is, obviously, far from permanent.

¡°Who¡¯s to say that we don¡¯t change our minds and put him back in the rotation?¡± Thomson said. ¡°That¡¯s always an option, too.¡±