Stott hit a 2-2 sinker far inside over first base and down the right field line for a bases-clearing triple in the sixth inning of the Phillies’ 8-3 win over the Marlins at LoanDepot park Saturday. That gave the Phillies (28-12) a three-run lead on a day when they played without another one of their best hitters in the lineup. Trea Turner has been on IL since last weekend with a left hamstring strain. On Saturday, they played without Kyle Schwarber, who is dealing with lower back soreness.
“It really is a perfect storm right now,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “The guys who don’t usually play perform well and we win.”
Marlins left-hander Jesús Luzardo held the Phillies scoreless for five innings for the first time since their shutout in St. Louis on April 9. But Whit Merrifield, who was batting leadoff in place of Schwarber, hit a one-out double to left. JT Realmuto’s single scored Merrifield to tie the game at 1.
Marlins reliever Anthony Maldonado loaded the bases on Stott, who had been in tears lately. Maldonado’s 2-2 inside sinker was 1,464 feet from the center of home plate, according to Statcast. There have only been three hits on pitches further inside by Phillies left-handed hitters since Statcast started tracking in 2015.
“I know I got it,” Maldonado said.
At the moment, Stott didn’t think the field was that inside.
“Then Schwarber was like, ‘Oh my God, did you see that?’” Stott said. “Then watching that was kind of crazy. I will do this from time to time. I think my first triple this year was on terrain similar to that. Honestly, maybe it was the same pitch. Two strikes, trying to get a ball up and give it a good swing.
Stott hit .210 with a home run, 10 RBIs and a .559 OPS through April 27. But he’s hitting .375 (12 for 32) with three doubles, a triple, two homers, 13 RBIs and a 1.219 OPS in his past. 10 games.
He’s been swinging and missing less recently. He runs less. And he hits the ball harder.
Until April 27:
• Odor rate: 22.9%
• Prosecution rate: 29.4 percent
• Hard hit rate: 27.3 percent
• Expected batting average: .210
Since April 28 (Saturday entry):
• Odor rate: 13.4%
• Prosecution rate: 20.0 percent
• Hard hit rate: 45.5 percent
• Expected batting average: 0.354
“Sometimes you take a good swing on a bad pitch and things happen,” Stott said. “Sometimes you take a bad swing on a good pitch and things happen. I think I always liked the ball inside. I know my chase numbers are worse inside the plate. I like to swing on infields, and I think that’s what the reports say, so I see a lot of that. But being able to keep that ball fair was good, especially in that situation.
Stott’s big hit was enough for Phillies right-hander Taijuan Walker, who allowed one run on eight hits and one walk in six innings, striking out four. Walker is happy with how he has pitched in his first three starts since opening the season on the IL.
“Everything’s fine,” Walker said. “I’m still trying to get the full feel of my splitter, but my slider, cutter and two-seamer feel really good. I feel like my location is really good. I feel like I know the type of pitcher I am. We have a very good defense. I just make them put the ball in play and the defense helps me a lot.
Walker threw just 16 splitters (19%) on Saturday after using the pitch more than any other offering last year (33.2%). He thinks he will get the feeling again.
“I just want to be comfortable with it all, so if the knife or slider doesn’t work that day, I have the splitter in my back pocket,” Walker said.
Stott singled to score Nick Castellanos from second base in the eighth inning, sparking another four-run rally.
He hit a cutter to right field that time.
“There are certain pitches that I think early in the year I would move to first base or something like that,” Stott said. “Just little things. When I’m really bad, I hit a lot of balls to first base. My misses are flares to left or flagged balls to the first baseman. So I’m just trying to stay more in the big part of the peloton and get back there.
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