CLEVELAND — In case you’re wondering when Rob Thomson decided to elevate Bryson Stott to the leadoff spot, it came to him in the wee hours of a morning, 30,000 feet or so above, well, probably Tennessee.

The Phillies had just lost a rain-interrupted, 11-inning game in Atlanta on April 10. They didn’t walk off the field until almost 1 a.m. and were on the plane en route to St. Louis when hitting coach Kevin Long tossed out an idea.

“Would you ever consider hitting Stott leadoff?” Long said.

“Absolutely,” Thomson said. “Let’s do it and see what we’ve got here.”

» READ MORE: Nobody is seeing fewer pitches in the strike zone than Bryce Harper. Can he do more with less?

Stott led off the series opener in St. Louis, and ever since, has remained atop the order when the Phillies face a right-handed starting pitcher. It has happened a lot. They have faced a righty starter in 23 of the last 28 games, including Sunday night against the Guardians’ Luis Ortiz.

And Stott has thrived. Through Saturday, he had a .455 on-base percentage in his first at-bat of a game, notching 10 hits and three walks.

Most notably, Stott has seen 103 pitches in 22 leadoff at-bats. Overall, he saw 4.53 pitches per plate appearance, second in the majors behind the Dodgers’ Max Muncy (4.54).

And the rest of the lineup is following Stott’s lead.

“He sets the tone, just with his plate discipline and seeing pitches and grinding out pitchers,” Thomson said. “He’s been getting on base, which is good. But we have kind of a copycat lineup where, if somebody starts chasing [pitches out of the zone] or leaving the zone, they tend to all do it. If somebody’s being really disciplined, they tend to be all really disciplined. I think he sets the tone for that.”

Stott has always possessed qualities that would suit the leadoff spot. But Thomson typically led off with Kyle Schwarber since 2022, and the Phillies won a lot of games with that alignment.

In spring training, Thomson experimented with different batting order combinations as a way of making the offense more dynamic. But in pondering leadoff alternatives to Schwarber, he settled on Trea Turner as the top option, with Stott relegated to the No. 8 or 9 spot.

» READ MORE: The Phillies are headed to a ‘point of pain’ with their bullpen. Could they have avoided it, and what’s the fix?

Turner usually leads off against lefty starters. But he has settled in behind Stott, riding a torrid 24-for-53 wave into Sunday night’s game. Turner had two hits in each of his previous five games.

Stott, meanwhile, brings additional speed to the top of the order. He also deepens the lineup, with Schwarber now slotting in behind Bryce Harper and in front of Nick Castellanos .

Thomson won’t commit to Stott as the permanent leadoff hitter. But he also isn’t inclined to mess with something that’s working. The Phillies averaged 5.9 runs in their last 13 games through Saturday.

“[Stott’s] really comfortable and that comes with experience and repetition,“ Thomson said. ”He’s really comfortable. And I think everybody else is too, where they’re at the moment. Right now it’s a pretty good thing."

Streaking Schwarber

Schwarber came into the game on a 45-game on-base streak, tied for the fourth-longest in Phillies history.

“I didn’t even realize anything about it, and then, it started catching on,” he said. “I’ll naturally see pitches. I want to get to my pitch and don’t really want to help them out by going to their pitches. Really trying to stay stubborn to the zone.”

Schwarber’s streak dates to Sept. 23 of last season, during which time he had 42 hits (14 homers), 33 walks, and a .393 on-base percentage. He also had only 42 strikeouts.

It’s further evidence of Schwarber’s evolution as a hitter. He always had freakish power, but struggled early in his career against left-handed pitching. He got non-tendered by the Cubs in 2020, led the majors in strikeouts in back-to-back seasons (2022-23), and batted .197 in 2023.

But Schwarber batted .300 against lefties last season and was at .306 through Saturday night.

“I see him now as a complete hitter,” Thomson said. “I really do. He uses the entire field. He takes his walks. He obviously has big-time power, but he’s really been impressive through this stretch.”

Said Schwarber: “I’ll take a walk. I feel like my job at the plate is, when there’s runners on, I want to drive those guys in. If I’m getting hits, great. But if I’m not feeling great up there with my swing, I still want to find a way on base and get on for the guy behind me.”

Mike Schmidt holds the Phillies’ record for the longest on-base streak, a 56-game roll in 1981-82. He’s followed by Chuck Klein (49 games in 1930) and Bobby Abreu (48 games in 2000-01). Odúbel Herrera reached in 45 consecutive games in 2017-18.

Extra bases

Johan Rojas started in center field, as the Phillies continued to alternate him with Brandon Marsh . Rojas is scheduled to start against Monday night against a lefty; Marsh likely will start Tuesday and Wednesday vs. righties. ... The Phillies return home at 6:45 p.m. Monday, with Cristopher Sánchez (4-1, 2.89 ERA) lined up to face Cardinals lefty Matthew Liberatore (3-3, 3.07).