In the bottom of the third inning of Game 3 of the NLDS, No. 9 hitter Bryson Stott came up to the plate with one out and Brandon Marsh on first. Stott’s double play partner Jean Segura just struck out on eight pitches.
There’s a sense that something could go right for the Phillies that inning, but they needed a good at-bat from the rookie shortstop. Spencer Strider, who only needs a high 90s fastball and a slider to carve through an order, was bleeding velocity. It was his first start since September 18. He topped out at 101 mph with his fastball in the first inning, but was down to 96 during Segura’s at-bat.
Familiarity was always going to play a huge role in this series. The Phillies scored three runs against Strider over 21 1/3 innings in the regular season, but hitters like Stott get to know the Atlanta pitchers and their aresenal. Stott was 0-for-7 with three strikeouts against the best rookie pitcher in MLB this season, but he became more familiar with the shape of Strider’s slider, even if he’s only see it three times in an at-bat all season.
Strider attacked Stott with eight straight fastballs. Of the 30 pitches Strider threw to Stott in the regular season, 23 were fastballs.
The first one was outside the zone for ball one. The next one was also outside, but home plate umpire Bill Miller called it a strike. He took another fastball down the middle for strike two. Then Strider attempted to pick off Marsh at first. The ball sailed away and the speedy Marsh advanced to third.
“In my head, I was like ‘It’s gotta be a perfect throw to get me’ and I was willing to take that chance,” Marsh said.
“I just kept telling him to run,” Stott said.
Another fastball from Strider misses outside.
Stott fouled a fastball on the outside corner. Then Strider came inside with another fastball. Another foul ball. Strider went outside again with a 97 mph heater. Again, Stott got just enough of it to stay alive. Strider then goes to the outside corner once again. His velocity ticked up.
After eight straight fastballs, Strider finally went to the slider. The pitch ran right into Stott’s barrel and he buried it into right field for a double and the first Phillies playoff RBI at home since Hunter Pence drove in Jimmy Rollins with a single in the second inning of Game 2 of the 2011 NLDS.
“I mean, we know he has an electric fastball and it’s hard to get to the top of the ball with how much he’s out there when he throws it,” Stott said. “He threw me a few sliders last time so I kind of knew the shape of it. When he threw it down, I was able to get to it.”
If you were to tell Phillies fans in May that the team would be one win away from the National League Championship Series, well, you would be accused of being insane. Add on the fact that Stott, who looked completely overmatched in his first two months as a big leaguer, was the one to spark the rally and the whole thing seems even more bonkers.
But just like the Phillies, something clicked for Stott in June. He finished the regular season with a .719 OPS since June 1, but even that doesn’t tell the story of Stott’s turnaround. The Phillies did not need Stott to be a superstar; they have them all around the order. What they needed from him this year was to put in great at-bats in the bottom of the order and blend in with a lineup full of veteran sluggers.
The reward for Stott’s persistence was a start in front of a rowdy crowd of over 45,000 in South Philadelphia. As a shortstop, Stott is one of the few position players who wears the PitchCom device, a new piece of technology introduced this year for catchers to deliver pitch calls using an automated voice. Stott sets the volume at eight during the regular season, but he had to raise it to 20 due to the crowd noise.
“I don’t like the yelling in my ear, so I keep it low,” Stott said.
With his Mom, Dad and brother in attendance, Stott came through in the biggest at-bat of his life. They only get bigger from here.
“I was at UNLV watching games and we were supposed to be lifting but there’s games on the TV and always saying I want to be there and do that one day and to come up in that spot was huge,” Stott said.
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