Philadelphia's baseball team had a heck of an extended weekend away from home. They kicked things off among the maize, playing in the MLB at Field of Dreams game. An Iowa power surge led to a dominant victory before the Phillies and Twins headed to Minneapolis to finish their series.
Philly continued to ride high over the weekend, completing their first sweep in 73 days, capped off by an impressive five-run comeback.
The offense is taking its turn at picking up the pitching staff seriously, and they will need to stay hot this week as they welcome the two teams right behind them in the N.L. Wild Card standings to town, starting with the Miami Marlins.
Miami has won 12 of its last 19 games, a stretch that started with a sweep of Philadelphia. They have done so on the back of their pitching staff, which has a 2.98 ERA over that time, good for No. 3 in the majors.
Philly has who they need to beat right in front of them, and their big arms will toe the rubber throughout the series. Let's dig into the matchup.
Tonight: RHP Janson Junk (6-7, 441 ERA) vs. LHP Christopher Sánchez (15-4, 2.54 ERA)
Tuesday: TBD vs. RHP Zack Wheeler (10-4, 2.89 ERA)
Wednesday: RHP Sandy Alcantara (13-7, 3.43 ERA) vs. Aaron Nola (4-9, 5.33 ERA)
In a surprising turn of events, Aaron Nola has been the best pitcher of the Phillies' expected starters over the last month. It seems that the veteran right-hander is figuring out how to be effective with diminished 'stuff.'
Since his ERA peaked at 6.04 after his last start of June, he has been steady: a 4.00 ERA while averaging 5 2/3 IP per start, up nearly an inning from before July. Over his last four starts? Even better. Nola's 2.91 ERA during that stretch is No. 16 in the National League among starting pitchers.
Zack Wheeler has been remarkable on the season, especially considering his recovery from off-season surgery, but he has stumbled as of late. In his last five starts, Wheeler has a 6.04 ERA; the Phillies are 1-4, and questions are being raised about whether his foot is even on the rubber when he throws.
Still, neither he nor the team seems overly concerned about his recent performance. Not yet, at least. Wheeler has dominated the young Miami hitters so far in their careers. They are slashing a combined .220/.292/.441 against him. To win the series, the club needs to see the version of Wheeler they have grown accustomed to since he arrived in Philly.
If you think the numbers against Wheeler were paltry, the results against Sánchez will look minuscule in comparison. How do you feel about a team with a 4.08 OPS against your starter? I would feel pretty good.
After a few tough starts in June and July, Sánchez seems to have righted the ship, recording a 1.96 ERA over his last four starts. He will obviously be pitching at home, which has been a huge difference for the lanky lefty this season. Citizens Bank Park has been very friendly to the Phillies ace. He has a 1.41 ERA in South Philly this year (it nearly triples on the road).
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Whether it is talent making its way to the surface, a hitters' meeting, or something else entirely, one thing is clear - the bats have woken up. Over the last two weeks, the Phillies have gone 8-5 while outscoring their opponents 68-55. They finally have a positive run differential on the season. Their slow start out of the All-Star break is fully in the rearview mirror.
During that stretch, the Phillies' offense is No. 2 in on-base percentage (.356), No. 10 in OPS (.763), and most importantly No. 4 in runs scored (68).
In their three-game sweep of the Twins, Philadelphia scored 23 runs on 34 hits. That came on the heels of a hitters meeting that, per Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer, was different according to multiple players.
The focus of the meeting seemed to be reversing the story of being the worst team in the majors in on-base percentage. They are leading MLB with a .362 OBP in August.
Philadelphia's stumble out of the gates in the second half put things in perspective. They cannot coast into the postseason. They are barely holding onto a playoff spot at the moment, and two of the clubs nipping at their heels are in town this week. They face another in two weeks.
Now is the time to surge. They control their own destiny, having the ability to distance themselves from those teams in the standings up close and personal. If there was ever a time to stay committed to the process, stay focused and keep doing what you have been lately, it is now.
