Philadelphia Phillies: Bryson Stott summer is heating up, folks

What is the best way to describe the Philadelphia Phillies under new head coach Rob Thomas? In a word: Smooth.

Ha ha ha, real original joke dude. Is the offense just like the ocean under the moon? Look, I get it; the jokes write themselves and they are going to get old in a hurry if they aren’t already, but honestly, it’s true. Gone are the weird idiosyncrasies of Joe Girardi, and in their place, the team has been playing with a new energy largely spurned on by a commitment to playing the young guys as much as the older ones.

Now granted, Thomas hasn’t been perfect and will certainly struggle at some point in the (probably) not too distant future, but you wouldn’t know it by his team’s total routing of hometown-ish hero Mike Trout and the Los Angeles Angels, who were outscored 26-9 on the way to a good old fashioned South Philly sweep.

Certainly, this has been a fun weekend to be a Philadelphia Phillies fan after a few months of not-so-fun baseball, but do you know who is having a really run time? Well, that would be Bryson Stott, the infielder Joe Girardi sent to minors back in April only to make a pair of crucial home runs in the three-game series versus Los Angeles.

The Philadelphia Phillies should prepare for a Bryson Stott summer in South Philly.

After watching Bryce Harper tie things up with a crucial eighth-inning grand slam, the Philadelphia Phillies found themselves down one heading into the ninth inning thanks to a single to right field by Los Angeles Angels third baseman Matt Duffy.

The pressure was on, the win was once again in doubt, and caps around Citizens Bank Park were rallied for good luck. After watching J.T. Realmuto line out to third and Alec Bohm get on base via a well-hit single to left field, and Odubel Herrera fly out to put a second out on the board, Didi Gregorius went to the plate for his first and only at-bat of the contest. He took the first ball thrown his way, a changeup by Raisel Iglesias, and placed it into the outfield to get another man on base and to advance Bohm to second.

Despite Bohm lacking the foot speed of, say, Jean Segura, all the Phillies really needed was a well-hit ball with some bounce into the outfield to tie things up at 7-all and keep the game alive for at least one at-bat longer.

Instead, the Phillies got a 368-foot home run by Bryson Stott on the sixth pitch of his at-bat, a 74 mph curve ball, and the assembled fans once again found themselves victorious for the third straight game versus Los Angeles.

For those keeping track at home, that is Stott’s second home run of the month, second post-Labor Day home run, and second home run, well, ever, at least in the Majors.

With Segura still on IL and Gregorius slowly making his way back to full strength, expect Rob Thomas to keep giving a steady workload to Stott, especially if his hot streak continues.

Eventually, the Philadelphia Phillies are going to lose a game under Rob Thomas. They can’t win out the remainder of their games – obviously – and as games against the Atlanta Braves, the San Diego Padres, and those pesky Miami Marlens approach later this month, it’s only a matter of time before an L or even two ends up in the record books. But for now, Thomas is doing everything right, keeping things spicy, and giving opportunities for players like Bryson Stott to showcase their development in key situations. Regardless of how the season ends, that is valuable.