NEW YORK — The Phillies had a plan in place against left-handed starting pitchers entering the NLDS and if you've paid attention to their lineups most of the season, it shouldn't have come as a surprise to see Austin Hays in left field and Edmundo Sosa at second base in Game 3.
Hays started in place of Brandon Marsh and Sosa in place of Bryson Stott. Marsh started just 16 games this season against a lefty and Stott started 30. Sosa started 43, and Hays was acquired first and foremost for his ability to hit southpaws.
Hays hit .354 this season vs. lefties and Sosa batted .284 with an .861 OPS compared to .236 with a .635 OPS vs. righties.
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The Phils face Sean Manaea in Game 3 on Tuesday and Jose Quintana in Game 4 on Wednesday. Hays and Sosa will both likely start then as well.
Manager Rob Thomson did say that the decision was a bit more difficult with Stott, who hit a go-ahead two-run triple off Mets closer Edwin Diaz in the eighth inning of Game 2 Sunday.
"Yeah, because Manaea as of late has been pretty tough on righties," Thomson said. "Sosa's numbers against him … Stott's got pretty good numbers too. That was a tough decision, to tell you the truth."
Thomson ultimately made the call on Monday night.
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Sosa is 4-for-8 lifetime vs. Manaea with a double, triple and homer. Stott is 3-for-7 with a homer and two walks.
Hays is 2-for-3 with a homer. And Marsh is 0-for-3 with two strikeouts.
Manaea, however, is a different pitcher now. He lowered his arm slot in July and has more of a Chris Sale-like sidearm motion now. The change led to tremendous success with the Mets winning 10 of Manaea's next 11 starts while he pitched to a 2.63 ERA.
"It's almost like he's throwing around a corner, it's across his body," Thomson said. "He's gonna stay in to lefties and sweep the ball away, and cut the ball in to righties and use his changeup. He's really pitched well ever since he's lowered his slot."
Stott and Marsh will still have chances to make an impact on Games 3 and 4 at Citi Field. The Mets' bullpen is predominantly right-handed with just two lefties in David Peterson and Danny Young. Peterson threw 50 pitches in Game 1 three days ago, so if he is available in Game 3, it would likely be for one inning and Mets manager Carlos Mendoza would almost certainly prioritize having Peterson face the Kyle Schwarber-Bryce Harper section of the lineup, leaving Thomson an opportunity to pinch-hit for Hays and Sosa with Marsh and Stott.
The Phillies have also shown they won't shy away from pinch-hitting Kody Clemens for Johan Rojas in the nine-spot. Such a move would obviously require them to insert Marsh in center.
Alec Bohm returned to the lineup for Game 3 in the five-spot behind Nick Castellanos. Thomson sat Bohm in Game 2 for what he hoped would be an infusion of energy from Sosa. Bohm is just 2-for-31 dating back to the regular season and many of those outs have been softly hit early in the count.
Thomson is hopeful that Bohm is turning a corner, and his is a bat the Phillies will need these next two nights against lefty starters.
"He's staying in his legs and his head's not moving up and down," Thomson said. "I was in the cage yesterday just watching him for a short period of time and they're really working at it, staying down through the baseball. His BP yesterday was really good, too. Hopefully he's coming around."