NEW YORK — The plan all along in the National League Division Series, according to the numbers, was for the Phillies to load up on right-handed hitters against the Mets’ left-handed starters in Games 3 and 4.
Bryson Stott’s star turn Sunday in Game 2 didn’t alter that.
Stott sat from the start in Game 3 against Mets starter Sean Manaea, Edmundo Sosa starting a second straight game, shifted to second base to accommodate the return of Alec Bohm at third. Bohm hit fifth, Sosa eighth.
Manager Rob Thomson said it was a tough decision, but with only two lefties in the Mets bullpen, it’s likely Stott could get used as a pinch-hitter.
“He’s had some numbers against Manaea,” Thomson said. “Manaea has been really tough against righties. He’s been tough against everybody. He’s really throwing the ball well. But Sosa is 4-for-8 with a homer. Just outweighs it a little bit. But it was tough.”
Those are Sosa’s numbers, but Stott was 3-for-7 with a homer career against Manaea. Bohm is 2-for-10 with a homer. The Phillies have hit .302 career against the well-traveled southpaw, with seven players having gone yard. That includes walk-off hero Nick Castellanos, who has homered three times off him, and Austin Hays. Hays was the less surprising platoon option, slotting into left field for Brandon Marsh, who went hitless in eight at-bats to start the series.
Stott came up huge in the 7-6 Game 2 win, with a two-run triple in the eighth inning off Edwin Diaz.
Bohm and Sosa both went 0-for-2 in Game 2. Hays didn’t start either game but got an at-bat off the bench, just his third appearance since Sept. 2.
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In the hand-wringing over Ranger Suarez, the Phillies at least have a positive data point to lean on. They’re leaning on it hard.
In the face of the lefty’s 7.79 ERA and .364 batting average against in his last four starts, Suarez was effective in an intrasquad game last Wednesday, which provides hope that recent struggles may abate.
“He was really good for two innings,” Thomson said. “The velocity was back up. The command was really good. I haven’t seen the command like that since he’s come back from the injury. I know it’s just an intrasquad game. Plus, I think his calmness helps him out a great deal, and that’s what gives me confidence.”
Suarez struggled late in each of the last two seasons before stellar playoff runs. He had a 7.94 ERA in his last 11.1 regular season innings in 2023 and got beat up in a 3-inning start to wrap up 2022.
Suarez, ever bubbly, has professed a policy of leaving the past there. He’s worked on some mechanical adjustments, especially using his legs more, to help flagging velocity.
“What happens in September stays in September,” Suarez said via a translator. “It’s time to turn the page. I just forget about it. I’m not thinking about it too much. We’re in October now so it’s a different atmosphere, a different vibe, as well. We’re thinking about the now right now.
“I’m just not getting stuck on those bad starts, just getting over them, turning the page over. It’s October vibes.”
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How rare were the bullpen blowups in Games 1 and 2?
In Game 1, Jeff Hoffman, Matt Strahm and Orion Kerkering all gave up hits. They allowed hits in the same game only once all season (July 30).
In both NLDS games, two members of that trio gave up runs (Strahm and Hoffman in Game 1, Strahm and Kerkering in Game 2). The Phillies only had two games all season where two of the three allowed earned runs in the same game – both times Strahm and Hoffman, June 27 vs. Miami and Aug. 18 vs. Washington.
Thomson vouched for his big relievers to make it a momentary blip. The emphasis is on execution rather than changes in approach, especially closing out two-strike counts, the Game 1 killer.
“I think they are fighting hard and they’re fouling some of those pitches off until we make a mistake,” Thomson said of Mets hitters. “The pitch that starts out of the zone and ends up in the zone, they do some damage on it. So we have some corrections to make, but they will.”
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The Phillies will face two familiar foes in New York, albeit wearing new jerseys.
Jose Quintana spun 5.1 scoreless innings in the Wild Card opener in 2022 for St. Louis, before the Phillies torched the Cardinals’ bullpen in a 6-3 win that set the stage for a pennant run.
“It was a great game, and they (have) almost a similar lineup,” Quintana said. “I remember last time. And they are pretty good. I face these guys a lot, and for sure it was a challenge. It is really good. This is part of the postseason. Every team you’re going to face I think is going to be a really good team. We have really good rivalry.”
Manaea’s memories are less fond, having been shelled in Game 4 of the NLCS that year as a member of the Padres, allowing four hits and five earned runs while getting just four outs in relief. Manaea has been excellent this season with the Mets, going 12-6 with a 3.47 ERA in a career-high 181.2 innings.
“It’s a thing of the past,” he said. “It obviously wasn’t a very good outing for myself. I’m not the same pitcher I was then. They’re not the same they were then, as well.”
