The Philadelphia Phillies have made an unexpected adjustment involving Bryson Stott ahead of their two-game series against the Washington Nationals.
Philadelphia is coming off a strong 9-4 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Sunday, with Stott playing a major role in the win by collecting three hits in five at-bats. However, despite that performance, the Phillies have moved him down in the batting order for Tuesday’s series opener in Washington.
Stott is now set to bat seventh and start at third base. He had been hitting no lower than sixth over Philadelphia’s previous eight games.
The lineup change comes as Stott has struggled to produce consistently at the plate recently. Over his last eight games, he has gone 5-for-25, with just one extra-base hit.
For the season, Stott is batting .251 with 124 hits, 28 doubles, 10 home runs, six triples, 65 runs scored, 63 RBIs and 24 stolen bases across 143 games.
The Phillies enter the Nationals series in an important part of the season. Philadelphia is 83-67 and sits 4.5 games behind Atlanta in the National League East after winning just four of its last 10 games. The Phillies currently hold the second NL Wild Card position, with a one-game advantage over the San Diego Padres.
Philadelphia will send left-hander Cristopher Sánchez to the mound Tuesday. Sánchez owns a 17-5 record with a 2.79 ERA over 187.1 innings this season.
Meanwhile, Washington enters the series at 70-81 and has already been eliminated from postseason contention. The Nationals recently swept the Los Angeles Angels but have gone 3-7 over their last 10 games. With the Phillies fighting to strengthen their playoff position, Stott’s performance will be worth watching closely as Philadelphia begins its series against Washington.
