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The Phillies Are Playing Good Baseball Again
By Luke Arcaini
Published:
When Bryce Harper is smiling like the picture above, you know the Phillies are playing good baseball.
Harper himself, is playing out of his mind. But that was also the case throughout the two weeks before Rob Thomson was fired, and it didn’t matter. Harper, along with Schwarber, had no help from the lineup, the rotation, or the bullpen.
Now, they’re playing all-around Phillies baseball, and the results are showing.
The Phillies have won 7 out of their last 8 games. The team that was 9-19 the day that Thomson was fired is now 16-20 on the season. They have outscored their opponents 39-19 over the eight games under Mattingly. It’s all clicking, and it continued in their series-opening 9-1 win over the Athletics.
“We’ve played better,” Don Mattingly said ahead of Tuesday’s game. “We’ve thrown the ball good out of the rotation. We’ve gotten key hits, any mistakes that we’ve made, we’ve covered them up with making a play. We’ve got a good club. You know it’s coming, as long as they’re working and getting after it, preparing, we’re going to win our share of games.”
Tuesday was a big night for the Phillies offense, a day after a Bryce Harper solo shot was the only run scored in the series finale vs. the Marlins. Harper lead the scoring off in the 3rd inning with a solo shot to right field, his 8th of the season. He was fired up, fist pumping as he rounded first base. The Phillies went on to score 7 of their 9 runs in their last two innings at the plate.
After a weird offseason for the Phillies superstar, things are exactly where they should be for the 33-year-old. Harper is slashing .286/.377/.571 through the first 36 games of the season with 9 home runs, 23 RBIs, 38 hits, and 22 runs scored. He’s 13th in baseball in OPS (.948), 6th in the National League, and the driving force behind the Phillies’ recent turnaround.
Harper is finally getting help from his supporting cast. Bryson Stott has three home runs in the month of May, and is hitting the ball harder than ever. Brandon Marsh is now hitting .322 in 2026 with an .837 OPS. He’s hitting over .300 since his return to the majors in May of 2025, and Don Mattingly is impressed.
“He’s been great. He’s probably been one of, if not our most consistent guy all year long,” Mattingly said postgame to reporters. “He’s been swinging the bat good. I love seeing it, because I feel like he’s a really, really good hitter. I’ve seen him when he was young in the (Arizona) Fall League, seen it from the other side. Obviously, he struggled in California. They did a nice job with him here, though, and you’re starting to hopefully see the consistency, throughout the year, of what he could be.”
How have we not talked about Cristopher Sanchez yet?
What a dominant outing from the Phillies ace. I thought Sanchez’s start to the season was a little iffy, and his ERA seemed a little low for how he looked on the mound. He’s been just about flawless over his last two starts, especially his outing on Tuesday night against the Athletics. He shoved 8 shutout innings on 97 pitches (69 strikes). Sanchez has now pitched at least 5 innings in 30 consecutive games dating back to May 29th, 2025, joining Steve Carlton, Cole Hamels, Cliff Lee, and Randy Wolf as the 5th lefty in Phillies history to achieve that streak.
Don Mattingly said postgame that Jhoan Duran was going to pitch no matter what on Tuesday night. The only way he wouldn’t have, was if Sanchez took a no-hitter through the 8th inning.
Phillies starters have now thrown six quality starts over their last eight games. The rotation is starting to show why they came into the season as one of the best. When you pair that with a scorching hot-streak from Bryce Harper and more consistency from the Phillies lineup, things are going to start trending upwards, like they are right now.
Luke Arcaini covers the Phillies for Crossing Broad. The wave is the worst thing is sports. Follow him on Twitter @ArcainiLuke