Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Bryson Stott is optimistic that his June swoon is nearing an end following a string of encouraging at-bats.
Stott will look to build on a successful night when the visiting Phillies conclude a four-game series against the Miami Marlins on Thursday.
Philadelphia has won two of the first three games in the series, including a 4-2 victory on Wednesday. Stott belted a three-run homer and singled to help the Phillies win for the sixth time in their last seven games.
Stott’s 396-foot shot was his fifth homer of the season and first since May 17. He entered the game batting .135 (7-for-52) in 15 games this month.
“My swing’s finally coming out again,” Stott said. “The results haven’t been there, and I know that, but all you can do is hit the ball on the barrel and hope for good things after that. … Just keep taking good swings, and good things should happen.”
Philadelphia will send left-hander Cristopher Sanchez (5-2, 3.05 ERA) to the mound in the series finale. He allowed two runs with no walks and five strikeouts over seven innings in a no-decision in a 3-2 win against the Toronto Blue Jays last Saturday.
“The changeup had a lot of bottom to it,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “Got a lot of swing-and-miss, lot of soft contact. He was phenomenal.”
The 28-year-old Sanchez has allowed two runs or fewer in each of his past four starts. He is 1-0 with a 1.33 ERA in four career games (two starts) versus Miami.
The Marlins will counter with right-hander Edward Cabrera (2-2, 4.10), who allowed two runs over three innings against the Washington Nationals last Friday.
After posting a 7.23 ERA in his first four starts this season, the 27-year-old Cabrera has recorded a 2.38 mark in his past seven starts covering 34 innings.
“I think he’s on a great run right now where he’s on the attack. He’s got a lot of confidence in his stuff and ability to go attack the strike zone with multiple offerings,” Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said. “And then the times where he’s had his back against the wall, he just buckles down and continues to pound it.”
Kyle Schwarber is 2-for-14 with one homer against Cabrera, who is 2-2 with a 3.60 ERA in six career starts versus Philadelphia.
The Marlins continued their strong play this month on Wednesday when they gave the Phillies a scare in the ninth inning.
Miami cut the deficit to 4-2 on Dane Myers’ one-out RBI single but came up short when right fielder Nick Castellanos caught Nick Fortes’ potential game-tying extra-base hit at the wall to end the game.
Castellanos went 2-for-5 with a run after being benched for Tuesday’s game for making an “inappropriate” comment to Thomson during the series opener.
The Marlins are last in the National League East, but McCullough has been pleased with his team’s 10-10 record against divisional foes this season.
“It’s a strong division, but we’re not going to back down from whoever we’re playing,” McCullough said. “We feel like we have a lot of guys that are continuing to gain some really valuable experience against high caliber opponents.”
–Field Level Media
