The Philadelphia Phillies have been playing some great baseball lately. They are 71-58, second place in the National League East and now only three and a half games behind the first-place Atlanta Braves.
The Phillies were eight games back on Aug. 1, and have won 14 of 19 so far in the month. They are currently in the midst of a three-game home series versus the St. Louis Cardinals; they won Friday’s opener 7-6.
Ahead of Saturday’s contest at 6:05 p.m. ET, it was announced that red-hot third baseman Bryson Stott was not in the starting lineup. His spot was taken by Edmundo Sosa for the game.
Philadelphia manager Don Mattingly said that Stott is simply getting a day off. Per Phillies Nation on X, the manager expanded by saying that he wanted some right-handed bats to get some playing time with a lefty on the mound.
The 28-year-old has played in 123 games this season, slashing .262/.340/.411 (.751 OPS) with nine home runs and 59 RBIs. He is also a perfect 23-for-23 on steals.
Stott got off to a slow start. Through the end of May, he had a .264 on-base percentage and .644 OPS. In June he started to pick it up, and now he has been fantastic in August (.904 OPS).
This actually coincided with a position change. Stott had been playing exclusively at second base for the past four seasons, to excellent defensive results. He was moved to third base after the Phillies’ trade for Luis Arráez.
Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
Stott has logged 16 games at third base, and has already produced three outs above average. The move was even more successful when you take into account that it was a poor defender in Alec Bohm being moved off third.
The third baseman will sit versus a lefty Saturday, that being rookie Quinn Mathews (0-1, 3.00 ERA). Stott has had reverse splits this season, posting an .839 OPS as a lefty batter versus lefty pitchers.
