Phillies’ Bryson Stott settling into leadoff spot in Kyle Schwarber’s absence

CINCINNATI — Bryson Stott’s introduction to being a leadoff hitter in the majors came Friday night, when he stepped in against Max Scherzer at jam-packed Citi Field in New York.

“That was, I think, my first time going up and getting booed,” Stott said Tuesday. “That was pretty cool.”

Stott handled it well. The 24-year-old rookie shortstop worked the count full before roping a double to right field, his fourth hit in five at-bats against Scherzer (he’s 6-for-7 overall) and the latest bit of evidence that Stott’s future with the Phillies may be atop the batting order.

Kyle Schwarber was absent from the lineup for a fifth consecutive game Tuesday night against the Cincinnati Reds. Stott stepped in for him again and was on an 8-for-18 roll with a .474 on-base percentage as a leadoff man.

“Once you can just think about getting on base, no matter how you get on base, it’s big,” said Stott, who led off in college at UNLV and in the minors. “I just treat it the same if I’m hitting third, fourth, eighth. It’s just the same at-bat. You need to get on base. Just kind of taking that approach up there is what I try to do.”

Phillies hitting coach Kevin Long said recently that Stott is suited to leading off because of his plate discipline and contact skills. Stott had walked only once in his last 65 plate appearances entering Tuesday night. But he also had a recent five-week stretch in which he struck out only nine times in 103 plate appearances.

It’s enough to make interim manager Rob Thomson think about keeping Stott in the leadoff spot once Schwarber returns from his calf injury. Schwarber ran and went through agility drills again Tuesday, but Thomson said he likely won’t return to the lineup until Friday night at home against the Mets.

“We know [Stott] can hit; we know Schwarber can hit,” Thomson said. “Trying to figure out where the best place for everybody is. But Schwarber really likes to lead off. He just feels good there. Maybe it’s like a rabbit’s foot for him.”

It’s also worth noting that the Phillies’ season began to turn when Schwarber went back into the leadoff spot in late May.

“That’s my rabbit’s foot,” Thomson said, laughing.

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Regardless, filling in for Schwarber has been a valuable experience for Stott, whose elevation in the batting order coincided with the Phillies’ facing Scherzer, Jacob deGrom, and tough Mets right-hander Chris Bassitt, all in front of packed houses in New York.

“I never try to let anything get too big anyway, just kind of try to keep it as normal as possible,” Stott said. “But I mean, my first at-bat against deGrom, he’s deGrom. He went high fastball at 100 [mph]. That lets you know what you’re in for.”

Noah Syndergaard will miss facing the Mets again this weekend.

After starting on four days’ rest for the first time this season and going seven innings in Tuesday night’s 4-3 victory over the Reds, Syndergaard was lined up to start Sunday at home against his former team. Instead, he will get an extra day of rest and face the Reds on Monday night at Citizens Bank Park.

Kyle Gibson will start Sunday against the Mets on normal rest.

Syndergaard missed the Mets in New York last weekend and didn’t face them earlier this season with the Los Angeles Angels.

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J.T. Realmuto is 15-for-15 in stolen-base chances and has the most steals in a season by a Phillies catcher since Red Dooin swiped 20 in 1908. ... Reliever Corey Knebel (strained lat muscle) underwent an arthrogram in Philadelphia to get a more complete diagnosis. ... Thomson celebrated his 59th birthday Tuesday. ... In addition to this week’s promotions of top pitching prospects Mick Abel and Andrew Painter to double-A Reading, the Phillies moved lefty reliever Erik Miller to triple-A Lehigh Valley. Miller, ranked by Baseball America as the team’s No. 7 prospect, had a 2.23 ERA and 44 strikeouts in 36⅓ innings at Reading. ... Left-hander Ranger Suárez (8-5, 3.52 ERA) will start the matinee series finale against Reds lefty Nick Lodolo (3-4, 4.72).