Gregory Soto has found more consistent success with the Phillies this season. Here’s why.

ATLANTA — At the end of April, when the Phillies were in Cincinnati, Gregory Soto had a conversation with the pitching coaches. He was struggling to get consistent break on his slider. In an attempt to add some depth to it, the coaches suggested that Soto focus on throwing his slider down when he was facing certain hitters.

The left-handed reliever is a quick learner, and took to it immediately. Pitching coach Caleb Cotham remembers when Soto pitched to the Reds’ Elly De La Cruz in the eighth inning on April 22. Soto threw three consecutive sliders to Elly De La Cruz, but they were slower than usual — 85-86 mph — and moved differently.

De La Cruz swung at all three, and struck out. Since that day, he’s been throwing two versions of the same pitch. One is harder — and more of a gyro pitch — and the other is a few ticks slower — with more of a two-seam grip. It’s another way for Soto to stay unpredictable, and so far, it has worked.

“So, for him it’s having enough vertical separation, between his sinker, fastball, and slider,” Cotham said. “His slider having a lot of lift is nasty, but it doesn’t have a lot of vertical difference. So adding a little bit of that has made it tougher for hitters to sit on a certain height.

“You make hitters account for different speeds, different heights, and now, you can play this three-dimensional game. If he’s on time, that depth shows up. When he’s maybe early with his body, he’ll stay behind it more and it’ll be a harder pitch which is still nasty. It’s just different.”

Going into Sunday’s game, Soto had pitched to a 2.18 ERA over 24 outings since that Cincinnati series. He’s allowed just one home run, and 10 walks, with 24 strikeouts in 20⅔ innings. And he’s done it, in part, by slowing down.

It sounds counterintuitive for a pitcher who can hit 98 mph on the radar gun. But Soto has learned how to pitch, in Cotham’s words. He knows what situations require which slider. He knows when to expand, and when to stay in the zone. Manipulating his slider only gives him another tool in his toolbox.

“It’s tough to cover a tremendous velocity spread,” Cotham said. “I mean, there’s hitters that can adjust in the middle of their stride. And that’s why this league is really tough, because hitters can be on 98. And there’s a lot of guys that have the ability to recognize and slow up.

“But it’s harder to do that. It’s easier to be sitting 99 or 98, and hit a 98 mph fastball away than a 93 mph slider. So, the more you can spread out that timing window, the harder it is for them to at least cover multiple things.

Cotham added: “With the slider, it’s just him taking a little off or throwing it harder. Because he legitimately could throw a 95 mph slider, but at that point, it’s probably covered. So, just stay within yourself and attack hitters. And his version of attacking hitters is softening them up, slowing them up enough so the fastball beats them.”

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Soto has been happy with the pitch’s progression. He said the sliders are moving the way he wants them to move. There is still a lot of season left, but it’s a promising start for a pitcher who has struggled to find consistency in his Phillies tenure.

“It’s been good for half of the season,” Soto said. “I hope I can have more outings like that. I’m working for that.”

Added Cotham: “I think [the slower slider] has helped. He’s also not trying too hard. He seems very comfortable with who he is. He’s not trying to do more than he’s capable of. He’s mixing well. He’s not throwing too many fastballs, he’s not throwing too many sliders. He’s pitching.”

Bryce Harper (left hamstring strain) and Kyle Schwarber (left groin strain) ran the bases and took batting practice on Saturday. Schwarber ran at 100%. Harper is going to run the bases again on Sunday, and the Phillies will re-evaluate him from there. Schwarber is expected to be activated on Tuesday — but Harper doesn’t seem far behind him.