No moment seems too big for Phillies rookie Bryson Stott, including the World Series

HOUSTON — It would have been easy this October to mistake the Phillies’ Bryson Stott for anything but a rookie navigating his first postseason.

Perhaps it was the 10-pitch walk he worked Friday night in the World Series against Justin Verlander that fooled people into thinking he’d been here before. Or maybe it was the double he stroked last week in the pennant clincher off Yu Darvish that made him look like a hitter with more than 127 big-league games. Or it could’ve been the way the fans sang along to his walk-up song as he dug into the batter’s box, treating him as if he’d been playing in South Philly for years.

“That’s been really cool,” said Stott, who turned 25 earlier this month. “I caught myself singing it the other day.”

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Stott, who made his big-league debut on opening day, has not looked like a rookie this month as no moment seems too big for the Phillies shortstop.

“He’s incredible,” J.T. Realmuto said. “He just has that mantra about him where nothing really gets to him. It’s kind of similar to Ranger Suárez on the mound. Like nothing gets to him. He’s calm, cool, and collected all the time. He has a lot of confidence in himself, but he doesn’t show it on the outside. Like he’s not cocky at all. He just goes about his business, and he’s been huge for us all postseason.”

Stott walked twice in Friday’s 6-5 World Series-opening win and has four extra-base hits this postseason. A year ago, he was in the Arizona Fall League with the Peoria Javelinas. Now, he’s contributing for the National League champs.

“Heck, when you saw him in spring training, you knew that guy was a big-leaguer,” Kyle Schwarber said. “The way that he went out there and controlled his at-bats in spring training, you knew right away. Everyone has an adjustment period. The way he adjusted, he had a heck of a second half and the way that he’s playing right now, it’s not a shock. It’s not a shock.

“The guy has a low heartbeat. It’s hard to do. Wow. Talk about a guy who is mature beyond his age.”

Stott’s walk in Friday’s fourth inning kept alive the team’s three-run rally against Verlander. The inning ended with the next batter but Stott showed some mettle as he fouled off four pitches with two strikes. He refused to fold — just like the Phils after falling into a five-run hole — against the likely American League Cy Young winner.

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“I kind of saw that in him when he came up to triple A last year at the end of the year where he would have those same kinds of at-bats,” Alec Bohm said. “It just kind of seems like a slow game for him sometimes. He just locked in, man.”

Stott said his highest level of play before this October was the Mountain West Conference championship when he was at UNLV. There’s nothing for him to compare to the World Series, but he said he just treats it like any other game.

The Phillies drafted Stott three years ago with the 14th overall pick and there was a debate in March about him starting with the big club or returning to triple A. He came to South Philly, struggled, was briefly sent down to the minors, and finally found his footing in the majors. Now, he’s a few wins away from a world championship.

“What a year,” Stott said. “A whirlwind but I love it.”

Rob Thomson said the Phillies will wait until they finish Game 2 before naming a starting pitcher for Game 3. … Astros manager Dusty Baker said the most memorable postseason game of his career was Game 4 of the 1977 NLCS at Veterans Stadium when he hit a homer off Steve Carlton in the rain as the Dodgers eliminated the Phillies a day after Black Friday. … Baker said Aledmys Diaz, who was called for leaning into David Robertson’s pitch in Friday’s 10th inning, was at the plate wanting to hit and not be hit. Diaz eventually grounded out to end the game and said he didn’t lean into the pitch. “Getting hit was better than ending the game. But the fact that he swung 3-0 and then he swung 3-1, so … ”