PHILADELPHIA — In the bottom of the seventh inning of Wednesday night’s game against the Texas Rangers, outfielder Kyle Schwarber collided with shortstop Didi Gregorius while the two were trying to field a pop fly. Gregorius was checked out by a team trainer but remained in the game.
That play turned out to have much bigger ramifications than it seemed Wednesday night. Gregorius felt stiff on Thursday and ended up getting an MRI, which showed a sprain. Manager Joe Girardi felt it was best to place him on the 10-day injured list, which the team did Saturday morning, retroactive to Thursday, with a left knee sprain.
As a corresponding roster move, they recalled infielder Bryson Stott, who had been playing at triple-A Lehigh Valley.
Stott was sent to Lehigh Valley on April 25 to get him some regular at-bats. Before he was sent down, Stott hadn’t recorded a hit since April 13. His last big league at-bat came April 19. But since he’s made the move to triple-A, the infielder has been hitting very well. Over nine games at Lehigh Valley this season, he’s slashing .333/.375/.611 with a .986 OPS.
A few weeks ago, Girardi advised the rookie to use his time in triple-A wisely, reminding him that an opportunity to come back to the big leagues could arrive at any moment. His words proved prescient, as Stott found himself back at Citizens Bank Park less than two weeks after he’d been sent down.
“Staying ready was a big thing,” he said.
Stott said that a big part of his ability to find his stroke again came from reconnecting with his plate discipline.
“It was just about swinging at the right pitches, I think,” he said on Saturday. “Staying within myself, and taking my walks when they’re presented to me. Trying to not doing too much. I kind of felt myself chasing those hits, instead of letting the hits come.”
Girardi said the tentative plan is for utility man Johan Camargo to move around the infield to give guys a day off and for Stott to play most of his time at shortstop. When asked whether Gregorius could have a longer IL stint, Girardi said the team is hoping it is a 10-day stint, but that they can’t predict how he heals his sprain.
Phillies rained out for the second day in a row
Just a few hours before first pitch, the Phillies postponed their 4:05 p.m. game against the Mets because of rain. The game will be made up Sunday as part of a single-admission doubleheader that will begin at 12:35 p.m. Tickets for Saturday’s game will not be valid for admission to the doubleheader, but fans who purchased tickets and parking automatically will receive an account credit for the face value of the tickets and parking. Fans can use this credit towards tickets for any remaining 2022 home game, based on availability.
Castellanos health update
Nick Castellanos, who was taken out of Thursday’s game with a bruised right wrist, the result of a hit-by-pitch, was back in the lineup Saturday. Girardi said that Castellanos told him he could have played on Friday’s game, too. Friday’s game also was postponed because of rain.
