Phillies change plans for Michael Lorenzen; Bryson Stott making a case for a Gold Glove

ATLANTA — It appears the Michael Lorenzen piggybacking experiment has been paused, at least for now. Lorenzen came on in relief of Cristopher Sánchez on Tuesday and was unable to record three outs in the Phillies’ 9-3 loss to the Braves. He allowed four runs on three hits with three walks and no strikeouts in one-third of an inning.

Lorenzen now has a 9.23 ERA in his six appearances since his Aug. 9 no-hitter. He has allowed eight home runs over that span — he allowed 12 all season up to that point — and has as many strikeouts (14) as walks (14).

» READ MORE: From a no-hitter to his worst stretch of the season: How Michael Lorenzen plans to rebound

Sánchez will start against the Mets on Sunday. It’s likely that Lorenzen’s next outing comes before then, for an inning or so, after a couple of days of rest.

“I talked to Michael,” manager Rob Thomson said. “He said, ‘I’m just trying to figure it out, and we’ll figure it out.’ I’ll give you a couple of days here and then we’ll get you back out there and get you going again.”

Lorenzen’s biggest obstacles are his command and finishing batters with two strikes. His strikeout rate has dropped from 19.4% from the beginning of the season to the no-hitter to 10.9% in his six games since. His walk rate has risen from 6.7% over that span to 10.9%.

“One thing is he’s got to throw strikes,” Thomson said. “Because he’s a strike thrower. He’s got to keep the ball down. He’s got to throw his changeup again, because when he came over, that was the pitch. So we’ve got to find that. And I think he will. I’m, by nature, very confident in other people figuring it out. Especially experienced guys.

“Hopefully [his next inning] is a good inning. Get him out, feel confident. It’s building blocks with some guys.”

Bryson Stott has 16 outs above average, which is tied for third among all players in baseball. He ranks third in the National League in fielding percentage as a second baseman (.991). Stott, who moved from shortstop to second this season with the addition of Trea Turner, is in the conversation for a Gold Glove this season, which isn’t a surprise to his manager.

“I thought he was going to be a really good second baseman,” Thomson said of Stott. “We saw it last year when [Jean] Segura went down. He’s worked hard on turning the double play, and I think that’s improved. Because I think that’s probably the part of his game that he needs to improve the most is just the quick transfer.

“But as far as his range and being able to read hops and his instincts of how to play the game, where to be, and where the ball is going to be hit are just really, really good.”

Stott visited infield coach Bobby Dickerson this past offseason to work on transferring the ball more quickly and improving his footwork.

“Well, most of his time was spent at shortstop last year, so he was making the transfer to second base, so the pivot is a little bit different,” Dickerson said in August. “Everything is in front of you at shortstop, and the runner is coming from the side of you now, and you’re throwing from the side. You have to redirect the ball. It’s a little bit different of an angle.

“It’s just repetition, repetition, getting his transfers quicker. He’s got plenty of arm strength.”

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The Phillies return home to host the Mets in a four-game series beginning Thursday. Ranger Suárez will start Game 1 against David Peterson, Taijuan Walker and Tylor Megill will face off on Friday, Zack Wheeler and José Quintana will start Saturday, and Sánchez will take on a Mets pitcher to be determined on Sunday.