Trea Turner looks a lot like Kyle Schwarber in his latest audition to lead off for the Phillies

CLEARWATER, Fla. — In his latest audition to be the Phillies’ leadoff man, Trea Turner did his best Kyle Schwarber imitation.

He opened the game with a home run.

Turner banged the first of four Phillies homers in a 16-9 victory over the Braves’ B-team at BayCare Ballpark. More important, he took his best swing of a spring in which he’s 2-for-19 with seven strikeouts.

Not that manager Rob Thomson is worried.

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“He’s starting to swing the bat,” Thomson said. “He’s having better at-bats. It was good to see.”

Thomson likely won’t settle on a leadoff hitter — Turner or Schwarber — until the final few days of camp. Schwarber batted atop the order for most of the last three seasons. He isn’t a prototypical table setter, but he did set a single-season major-league record with 15 leadoff homers last year.

Oh, and the Phillies have a 219-161 record, not including the postseason, when Schwarber leads off.

Some within the organization have theorized that leading off may bring out better plate discipline in Turner by causing him to swing at fewer pitches outside the strike zone.

“I hope he’s selective and controls the zone wherever he hits [in the batting order],” Thomson said. “But if that’s what it takes, then that’s what it takes. I don’t know. We’ll see.”

Turner has led off in six of the eight games in which he has played in the spring, including four in which he shared the lineup with Schwarber. Last week, Schwarber led off twice, with Turner batting second.

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Thomson will continue to tinker with Turner and Schwarber before coming to a decision. Asked what he’s looking for from Turner in the leadoff spot, Thomson was straightforward.

“Just controlling the strike zone and thinking about getting on base,” he said. “Today, he did that.”

On the mound: Cristopher Sánchez allowed one run in four innings against a Braves lineup that featured shortstop Orlando Arcia and outfielders Jarred Kelenic and Bryan De La Cruz. He featured mostly his sinker and signature changeup but was pleased with the evolution of his slider, which has more sweeping action.

“It’s good,” Sánchez said. “It’s there in the zone. I’m getting a lot of swing and miss, and also I’m getting the contact that I want from it, too.”

Nonroster reliever Nabil Crismatt continued a solid spring by tossing 1⅔ scoreless innings. He could be an option for the Phillies if lefty Matt Strahm (shoulder inflammation) isn’t ready for opening day.

On the flip side, Tyler Phillips gave up two runs on two hits and a walk and has a 10.80 spring ERA.

Who stood out: Schwarber, Bryson Stott, and Max Kepler also homered for the Phillies. Kepler’s third homer of the spring went out of the ballpark to right field, near U.S. 19.

Utility infielder Rodolfo Castro played his second game ever in the outfield and made a diving catch in center field.

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Painter goes live: Top prospect Andrew Painter is scheduled to face hitters in a live batting practice setting for the first time Friday. Also, right fielder Nick Castellanos, who hasn’t played since Sunday, was ill and not in camp.

Quotable: “He’s always had some power. What they’ve done is they’ve straightened out his bat path a little bit to be a little shorter to the baseball and be able to get the head [of the bat] out. He’s strong. One thing I didn’t realize was how big and strong he is.” —Thomson on Kepler

On deck: By day, the Phillies will host the Pirates in the annual “Spring Breakout” prospect showcase (1:05 p.m., NBCSP+). By night, they will face the Yankees in a Grapefruit League game in Tampa. Taijuan Walker is slated to start against New York righty Allan Winans.