Stott on Girardi’s mind, if not lineup card

PHILADELPHIA » Joe Girardi said the playing status of Bryson Stott is a rather constant conversation piece around the Phillies’ coaching and front offices. That’s likely because the current Stott status, entering Saturday’s game, was that he hadn’t had a hit in 10 days. His last hits, two of them on April 13, came against future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer of the Mets.

But Stott, 24, went slumping after that, and hadn’t started since Monday in Denver. The next day against the Rockies, he pinch-hit in the ninth inning, stretching his hitless skein to oh-for-17.

Asked prior to a 5-3 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers if he could see a convenient spot for a Stott restart, Girardi said, “I’m not sure. With these two guys rolling, I just kind of have stuck with them.”

Those two guys would be third baseman Alec Bohm and sub shortstop Johan Camargo, who Saturday slotted in the seventh and eighth lineup spots, respectively against the Brewers, though they lately had been the two hottest hitters on the team.

In the series opener Friday night, Bohm and Camargo’s back-to-back hits in the eighth keyed a 4-2 comeback victory. Respectively, they entered the middle game of the series hitting .440 and .368 on the season. This while regular shortstop Didi Gregorius has been out with a bruised hand.

For those who thought the inexperienced Stott could use regular playing time at Triple-A, the argument would seem ripe by the recent developments.

“It’s something we’ll talk about as we move forward here, but yeah, it’s been a few days,” Girardi said. “But these other guys are playing well and we’re not changing anything.

“Those are things that we talk about always. I think it’s too soon to decide anything. We still really believe in (Stott). We think he’s going to be a really good player for us. But right now we’re just kind of riding some hot hands.”

Labeled as the organization’s top prospect, Stott played only 10 games for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs last season after 80 for Double-A Reading. Yet he had a solid spring in Clearwater, with both he and Bohm making the Opening Day lineup. Camargo was almost an afterthought, a career bubble player brought in for bench depth and his defensive versatility who has had a great April.

As for Stott, the fact that both Bohm and Camargo went hitless in three atbats Saturday might mean another chance could soon be in the offing.

“We knew it could be difficult,” Girardi said of getting both Bohm and Stott playing time. “We felt that we could do it. Would you love to give them each 500 at-bats? Yeah, but I don’t know if that’s possible. So we’ll just re-evaluate as we move forward.”

••• While Stott is the odd guy out in the infield, the same holds true in the outfield for struggling Matt Vierling, who sat for a second straight game.

That’s because of the delayed start to the season for Odubel Herrera, who Friday returned from a right oblique injury suffered early in camp. While Vierling has had a rough start, Girardi indicated he’ll have no problem finding time for both of them in center.

“We’re going to run into some lefties, which will kind of give (Herrera) a natural break, because Vierling has been so good against lefthanders,” Girardi said. “But we’ve all seen it — Odubel can impact the baseball. He can get some big hits for us so I would expect much the same.”

In just his second start Saturday, Herrera had a triple and single in his first two at-bats. Vierling, who is hitting just .167 with one extra-base hit, has gotten all five of his hits this season off left-handers, fashioning a .385 average against them.

••• NOTES » Bryce Harper doubled in the first inning, stretching a hitting streak to seven games. … Hitting cleanup, Nick Castellanos doubled home Harper in the first and hit a sacrifice fly in the third as the Phillies built a 3-0 lead. Castellanos is hitting .500 with two doubles and four RBIs since April 13. … The Phillies’ roster will be cut from 28 to 26 players on May 2, but Girardi said it means two fewer pitchers, since the club will have to carry 13 position players and 13 pitchers.