Phillies flatten the Marlins, 15-3, with Bryson Stott leading off and Alec Bohm recording six RBIs

In the context of a 162-game season that runs from the final week of March through the first week of October, a five-game stretch in the middle of summer is akin to a needle in a haystack.

Look it up, though — Aug. 12-16 of last year — and you will find the genesis of what might have seemed like an arbitrary Phillies lineup shuffle Monday night.

Bryson Stott batted leadoff in those five games. He did well. And he has reached base with a hit in every game so far this year. So, in Game No. 10, with the Phillies facing the reigning Cy Young Award winner, manager Rob Thomson moved Stott into the leadoff spot in what turned out to be a 15-3 shellacking of Sandy Alcantara and the Marlins before 28,642 at Citizens Bank Park.

» READ MORE: Phillies’ Rhys Hoskins focusing for now on ‘small wins’ during rehab with a big goal in mind

Cause and effect?

“I mean, we just had 20 hits,” Stott said, laughing.

But seriously, it didn’t hurt. Stott possesses the traits of a leadoff hitter. He sees a lot of pitches, works long counts, and has a good knowledge of the strike zone.

Add in that Stott is making contact with everything, from fastballs to breaking balls, and in all locations. He’s taking advantage of a more wide-open right side of the field without the shift. He has 17 hits, the most by a Phillies hitter through 10 games since Chase Utley had 20 in 2014.

“I’m trying to swing at my pitches,” Stott said. “Trying not to chase as much, and just swinging at the right ones.”

And with Bryce Harper sidelined through at least May and Rhys Hoskins out for the season, putting Stott at the top lengthens the lineup by enabling Thomson to use Kyle Schwarber in a classic run-producing spot ahead of Nick Castellanos and Alec Bohm.

It worked against Alcantara, who gave up five runs in the third inning, four of them with two out. They knocked him out in the fifth, blitzing him for 10 hits and nine runs, the most he allowed in a game since Aug. 6, 2021.

The Phillies have faced Alcantara seven times since the beginning of last season. They’re 5-2 in those games.

» READ MORE: Three Phillies prospects to keep an eye on as the minor league season begins

They kept pouring it on, too, against Marlins reliever Devin Smeltzer, a product of Bishop Eustace Prep in South Jersey. Trea Turner, nudged down to the No. 2 hole, finished with three hits. Castellanos, Bohm, and Brandon Marsh each had three hits apiece. Bohm homered and finished with six RBIs, matching his career high.

It would be overly simplifying to credit the lineup change for all of it. And with the Marlins sending lefty Jesús Luzardo to the mound Tuesday night, Thomson wouldn’t say if he will stick with the lefty-hitting Stott at the top of the order or go back to Turner, a right-handed hitter.

But the third inning did snowball on Alcantara after Stott ripped a two-out, two-strike single up the middle. He stole second base and scored on a single by Turner, who also stole second and scored two batters later on a Castellanos double.

And with the pitch timer forcing pitchers to work more quickly, Turner noted that it’s more difficult for even aces such as Alcantara to prevent an inning from getting out of hand.

“The longer the innings go, the more it benefits a team,” Turner said. “If you can get those hits or walks or guys on base later in those innings, I think that’s a big advantage for the offense. But when you’ve got Sandy on the mound and two outs, nobody on, it’s kind of hard to get stuff going. [Stott’s] at-bat kind of started it. He stole a base. He’s been playing really good baseball.”

Thomson prefers not to juggle the top of the lineup. But he also doesn’t have as much choice without some of the Phillies’ key players. Turner, meanwhile, insists he doesn’t care whether he leads off or bats second.

“I haven’t hit leadoff probably for three years or so. I’ve hit second and third mostly,” Turner said. “I think the approach doesn’t change. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you’re hitting. They’re going to attack you how they think they can get you out.”

» READ MORE: The Phillies raised the stakes to a new level. Doing it again is a historically tough challenge.

So, maybe the Phillies stick with Stott in the leadoff spot for now?

“I’ve always thought that he kind of fits the mold of a leadoff guy,” Thomson said. “I’m just seeing Bryson’s at-bats and saying, ‘OK, he’s getting on base, he’s doing what Bryson can do, so let’s put him up top and get some of the sluggers in there behind him.’”

Pop quiz: Two turns through the rotation, name the Phillies’ most effective starting pitcher.

Hint: He’s actually a reliever.

Matt Strahm, who took on a starting role two-thirds of the way through spring training to replace injured Ranger Suárez, followed up four scoreless innings last week at Yankee Stadium with five against the Marlins. The left-hander yielded four hits (all singles), piled up six strikeouts, and threw 59 pitches.

» READ MORE: ‘We’ve got room to grow’: Phillies mark their 2022 National League pennant with super-sized championship ring

And when Thomson took the ball from him after the fifth inning?

“I stared at his hand before I shook it and was like, ‘Are you sure?’” Strahm said, laughing. “But I understand it. I understand the role. It’s his team, and whenever he wants to take the ball, he can take it.”

Strahm also got help to escape his only real jam. With two on and one out in the first inning, Brandon Marsh ran down Jorge Soler’s drive to right-center field. Strahm tipped his cap to salute Marsh, then struck out Bryan De La Cruz to end the inning.

Amid all the eye-popping offensive numbers, let it be said that the third-inning rally began with Jake Cave’s first Phillies home run.

An offseason waiver claim from Baltimore, Cave won a spot on the season-opening roster with a strong spring training. He has played a lot, too, starting in the outfield against right-handed pitchers, but was off to a 2-for-16 start.

But Cave jumpstarted the Phillies against Alcantara, who hadn’t allowed a homer to the previous 113 batters he faced dating to last season. Cave worked the count full, then got a down-and-in sinker at 98 mph and crushed it to right field.

» READ MORE: Former Phillie Jean Segura welcomed back with a championship ring: ‘I feel love’ for the fans

With a 9-0 lead, reliever McKinley Moore made his major league debut and pitched a scoreless sixth inning. He gave up a solo homer to Yuli Gurriel and walked two batters in the seventh.