In must-win Game 4, Phillies rolling with their guys originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
NEW YORK — In a must-win situation, the Phillies are rolling with their guys in Game 4 of the NLDS.
Bryson Stott is in the lineup at second base against left-hander Jose Quintana. So is Brandon Marsh, starting in center over Johan Rojas.
Marsh started only 16 games all season against a lefty and Stott had been routinely subbed out for Edmundo Sosa. But they’ll both face Quintana, who was worse this season vs. lefties (.255 BA, .757 OPS) than vs. righties (.231 BA, .696 OPS).
“We’ve got to try to get as much offense in there as possible,” manager Rob Thomson said four hours before the first pitch of Game 4. “Stott’s good against lefties. Marsh’s at-bats against lefties the last month have been really good. Kinda switch it up.
“I have a lot of confidence in those guys. Try to get as much offense as we possibly can. Maintain the defense.”
Stott bats seventh, Marsh ninth. In between is Weston Wilson, starting in left field in place of Austin Hays, who went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts and a soft groundout in Game 3 against Sean Manaea.
“I talked to Austin, it’s a little unfair for him because he hasn’t had a whole lot of reps,” Thomson said. “He had the kidney thing and we just haven’t been able to get him a lot of work. It looked like his timing was off last night.”
The sample size was small, but Wilson handled lefties even better this season than Hays, hitting .341 with a 1.025 OPS.
Quintana’s past month has been his best in years. He’s gone 4-1 with a 0.74 ERA in his last six starts and hasn’t allowed a home run since August 20.
He’s also hittable and prone to wildness. He pitched seven scoreless innings against the Phillies on September 13, but put eight men on base without making it out of the fourth inning in the prior meeting in June.
He’s going to try to make the Phillies expand the strike zone in Game 4. It’s how pitchers have attacked them two Octobers in a row, plus that’s just way Quintana pitches.
“Quintana’s more of trying to get chase, less velocity,” Thomson said. “We’ve got to be disciplined. We have to be.”
