Bryson Stott was absent from the Philadelphia Phillies’ series opener against the Atlanta Braves on Friday because of a personal matter that turned out to be a major family milestone.
Stott’s wife, Dru, was preparing to give birth to the couple’s third child, a baby girl.
The Phillies infielder later shared the happy news on Instagram, announcing the arrival of their daughter and taking some time away from the team to be with his family.
Stott’s absence came as the Phillies faced Atlanta in a crucial matchup, with Philadelphia ultimately falling 5-2 in a pitching battle between Chris Sale and Cristopher Sánchez.
Although Stott was unavailable for the opener, his absence was unrelated to an injury and he is expected to return to the Phillies’ lineup.
His return would provide Philadelphia with another important left-handed bat as the club attempts to recover from the loss and keep pace with the Braves in the National League East.
The infielder has been putting together one of his stronger seasons in Philadelphia and entered the matchup batting .255/.331/.403 with 10 home runs.
His overall offensive production has been around league average, reflected by a 100 wRC+, but he has been particularly effective against left-handed pitching.
Despite being a left-handed hitter himself, Stott owns a .276/.353/.419 slash line and a 111 wRC+ against southpaws this season, making him a valuable option in difficult matchups.
With Stott expected back in the lineup for the second game of the series, Bryan De La Cruz is scheduled to receive the day off. The Phillies enter the contest at 79-62 and now trail the Braves by five games in the NL East after losing the opener.
Philadelphia has also fallen behind the Chicago Cubs in the race for the National League’s No. 4 seed, with Chicago holding the head-to-head tiebreaker after winning six of the teams’ seven regular-season meetings.
With the division race tightening and home-field advantage for the Wild Card Series at stake, the Phillies will look to Zack Wheeler to deliver a strong start and help them avoid falling further behind.
