CHICAGO -- Bryson Stott wasted no time replacing Puddin' Head in the Phillies' record book on Tuesday.
Stott grounded a leadoff single up the middle to start the Phillies' 7-4 win over the White Sox in the first game of a doubleheader at Guaranteed Rate Field. The base knock extended Stott's hitting streak to 17 games, surpassing Willie "Puddin' Head" Jones for the longest to start a season by any Philadelphia player in the Modern Era (since 1900). Jones' 16-game streak opened the 1950 season.
So did Stott keep a souvenir to commemorate passing Puddin’ Head?
“I'm not sure what happened to the ball -- I didn't ask to throw it in or anything,” Stott said. “But it's pretty cool. Pretty cool.”
Unfortunately for Stott, his hitting streak did not survive the day. He went 0-for-4 in Philadelphia’s 3-0 loss in the nightcap, though he nearly extended the streak in his final at-bat. Facing Chicago closer Reynaldo López, Stott ripped a 100.7 mph fly ball to deep left-center field, only to have center fielder Luis Robert Jr. track it down a Statcast-projected 380 feet from home plate.
The ball had a 63 percent hit probability, per Statcast, but the streak ending was the last thing on Stott’s mind.
“Just trying to get on base any way,” Stott said. “Down three runs there, just needed some baserunners. I hit it good, but a little too high.”
Stott, however, certainly wasn’t alone in going hitless. The Phillies were held without a hit until the eighth inning, when Brandon Marsh lined a leadoff double to left field that proved to be the team’s only hit of the ballgame.
White Sox starter Lucas Giolito racked up seven strikeouts over six innings before turning it over to the bullpen. It was a dominant outing against a Phillies team that had notched 14 hits just a few hours earlier in the opening game -- and had 23 in its 14-3 win over the Reds on Sunday.
The 37 hits in those two games were the most by the Phillies in any two-game stretch since July 13-14, 2007. They also had an MLB-best .297 average prior to being one-hit.
But Philadelphia’s hitters had no answer for Giolito, who induced 12 swings and misses -- and pumped in 18 called strikes.
"He's got a really good changeup,” Stott said of a pitch that led to six whiffs by Phillies hitters. “You see it, but it never gets to home plate. I think a lot of us were out in front on it, so once that's in your head, he can beat you with other stuff. He did a really good job."
The lack of production to end the night ultimately overshadowed a lot of positives from the twin bill. Along with Stott making history in the first at-bat of the day, Josh Harrison had a breakout performance out of the No. 9 spot in the opener, going 3-for-5 with his first homer as a Phillie and four RBIs.
And speaking of hits, the Phillies’ bullpen didn’t allow a single one while stringing together a picture-perfect performance in Game 1. Gregory Soto, Craig Kimbrel, Seranthony Domínguez and José Alvarado each tossed a 1-2-3 inning with two strikeouts apiece.
"That's clearly dominance, you know?” manager Rob Thomson said. “From Soto to Kimbrel to Seranthony to Alvarado -- I don't know how many strikeouts they had, but no walks. Just pounding the zone. High-quality stuff."
Of course, Giolito and Co. immediately returned the favor.
On top of Stott's 0-for-4 effort, Trea Turner also went 0-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts -- and went 0-for-8 with four K's on the day overall. Kyle Schwarber went 0-for-2 with a walk, and Nick Castellanos went 0-for-3, meaning the Phillies' first four hitters combined to go 0-for-13 in the nightcap.
But despite all of that, the Phillies still ranked second in the Majors with a .286 team average at the time of their final out.
“That's baseball,” Stott said. “Yeah, you'd like to score 15, 16 runs a game and get 12 hits every night -- but that’s just not what the game of baseball is.”