It wouldn’t have been a surprise if, after the Phillies found out they’d be without Trea Turner for six weeks, the fast start they got off to hit a little bump in the road.

It’s not easy to take a guy out of your lineup who hits in the all-important No. 2 spot, who was hitting .343, and creating opportunities on the bases to tack on more runs for an offense that, while it has a lot of thump, also can be frustrating at times.

Considering Turner and Alec Bohm were the only two guys in that regular lineup who were providing not only consistent production, but an ability to put balls in play with more regularity than anyone else, taking one of them out of the mix could have been a detriment.

But there’s something different about these Phillies.

Whereas in the past, they would lean heavily on their star players to carry the load for chunks of the season, now it’s a different guy or two every night making the difference.

On Sunday, it was Bryce Harper hitting a three-run homer, and J.T. Realmuto getting three hits out of Turner’s spot in the lineup, and Taijuan Walker providing a solid start in just his second outing since coming off the I.L. as the Phillies won their fifth straight game, 5-4 over the Giants.

They’ve now won nine straight at home, 9-of-10 overall and 16-of-19. They have the best record in baseball at 24-11 – the best start since the 1995 Phillies got off to an identical record through 35 games. They’ve built a 2 1/2 game lead in the National League East over Atlanta.

Yes, the Phillies often see Harper’s name in the headlines of games they are winning. He is, after all, the straw that stirs the drink for this franchise, but he’s not been living up to his standard so far this season.

Sure, he has seven homers. He’s also getting on base, and generally he’s been a plus player in most games, but he sets a very high bar for himself, one not reachable by most players, and even Harper would tell you, he’s not quite reaching that bar frequently enough in his mind.

But when he does, there’s no question, it’s a joy to watch:


In this season though, one that’s gotten off to such a scintillating start, the Phillies can win frequently, even with Harper not at his best. Harper has homered in five of the Phillies’ 35 games this season. The Phillies have won all five. But they’re still eight games over .500 in the games he doesn’t hit a homer, which is a testament to the rest of the team.

“Our starting pitching, every time they go out, they’ve been lights out,” Harper said, when asked what the difference is between the 2024 edition of the Phillies and the previous two seasons where the team made deep playoff runs. “Whenever you have that, the ability to win is way higher. Going out there with the faith in our pitching that we do have and having some timely hitting … we’re just going out there and playing really good baseball as a group, collectively.”

Take Realmuto, for example. He’s another guy who has been O.K. to start the season, but with Turner going down, he’s been tasked with being the right-handed batter to fill that huge hole that’s left at the top of the lineup.

In his first game in that spot Saturday, he worked two walks and got a triple. On Sunday, he had three hits. It’s as if Turner never left.

“Maybe that two spot’s hot,” manager Rob Thomson said, dryly. “He’s been really good. He’s not chasing and he’s putting good at bats together.”

The Phillies won again despite striking out at an alarming rate. The won a game in Los Angeles last Wednesday 2-1 despite striking out 18 times. They struck out 17 more times Sunday.

But, as Harper said, the hitting has been timely.

They had a great approach against Giants ace Logan Webb. They worked him hard. Webb threw 98 pitches – and only lasted four innings. The Phillies got six hits off him and worked two walks, scoring all five runs they needed to win the game.

Bryson Stott continues to put together strong at bats. He worked his sixth walk in the last five games and he roped an opposite field double that scored Nick Castellanos for the game-winning RBI.


Look for Stott to start at shortstop Monday. The Phillies were hoping to get him some infield practice at a position he hasn’t played since the 2022 World Serie this weekend, but had it cancelled both Saturday and Sunday because of the weather. Still, they’d like to have a regular option of Stott at short and Whit Merrifield at second base while Turner is out, and they’re probably going to go that route Monday anyway, as long as Stott is comfortable doing it, which he likely is.

As for Walker, he gave the Phillies a really good outing for just his second start. His velocity is still not where he’d like it and he did give up a first inning run on an RBI double by Phillie-killer Michael Conforto, but after that, he was strong through six innings.

For the second straight game, Thomson let Walker go out to pitch the seventh inning and for the second straight game he gave up a home run – this time, a two-run blast by Thairo Estrada.

It wasn’t the way Walker wanted it to end, but it was an encouraging start, nonetheless.

“I feel like my location was really (good) today,” Walker said. “All of my pitches – my splitter was better today than the last start. It was nice, and it makes it so much easier when the offense is putting up runs early like that.”

Other quick nuggets from Sunday

  • Jeff Hoffman had another strong relief performance, striking out the side in the eighth inning. He’s allowed just two earned runs in 16 innings this season and has 24 strikeouts compared to just five walks.
  • Alec Bohm extended his hitting streak to 18 games Sunday, the longest run in the majors this season. He did it in his final at bat of the game, ripping a double down the left field line off lefty reliever Taylor Rogers.
  • Johan Rojas had a tough game. He was 0-for-4, striking out three times. He also misplayed two fly balls in centerfield, seemingly over-running both. However, there aren’t many outfielders in the game who could even get to those balls, so just having the chance to make the catch is a plus. “Those two balls, I’m thinking he should catch them, but is that really fair,” Thomson asked. “Because not many guys even get to those balls. I think he’s a great defender. … I trust him.”
  • Jose Alvarado gave up a solo homer to Jakson Reetz, who is the Giants fourth string catcher who was called up before the game. It was his first big league home run. Alvarado’s velocity was down a tick too. Thomson admitted they have to be careful not to overuse Alvarado. It was his fifth outing in the last eight days. Don’t be surprised if he’s unavailable for a day or two.
  • Sean Hjelle, the 6-foot-11 reliever for the Giants has pitched in two games this weekend. In each game he’s thrown two innings. In those four innings he has 10 strikeouts. He’s the first reliever to have 10 strikeouts combined over two consecutive outings this season and only the 13th pitcher in the history of the sport to do it over consecutive games while pitching four innings or fewer.
  • Brandon Marsh was the latest Phillie to be mic’d up on the field during ESPN’s Sunday night broadcast. He admitted after the game that it was one of the hardest things he ever had to do. He said he’s laser focused on every pitch, so to try and stay focused and talk to the guys in his ear at the same time was really difficult. Big surprise, eh? At least the was entertaining though. Most of those interviews are awful. We gotta find out though why Cristian Pache would be part of his rock band. Garrett Stubbs and Kyle Schwarber are gimmes. But Pache? That’s a surprise response that needs a little more fleshing out. Here’s the majority of the interview though, in case you missed it.