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Vibes Beginning to Shift as Phillies Grind Out a Tough Win While Red Sox Fans Put Bags on Heads
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With the Sixers and Flyers being done, it’s time we turn our attention to the Phillies, who scratched their way to a 20-22 record with a 2-1 victory in Boston on Tuesday night.
The SAWKS are now 17-24 and fans are getting out the brown bags at Fenway:
There was a lot to like about this win, which was not easy. The Phils only mustered five hits, but Kyle Schwarber went yard for the 5th game in a row. Bryson Stott knocked in the eventual game-winner with a ground rule double. Zack Wheeler threw 7.1 innings of six-hit, one-run baseball. Jhoan Duran put runners on 1st and 2nd in the bottom of the 9th but got Ceddanne Rafaela swinging and then Marcelo Mayer on a ground out to end it. It was not an easy win by any stretch, but they found a way, and that’s good for confidence.
The flash point play of the game was when Wilyer Abreu hit one that looked like it was traveling 700 feet, yet died right at the right field fence:
You don’t want to put the cart before the horse, since the Phils dug themselves such a large hole, but they’re two games from clawing back to .500. They’re 8-3 in May and Zach Wheeler is back in prime ace form after the offseason procedure. Cristopher Sanchez has allowed two earned runs in his last three starts. Brandon Marsh looks like prime Tony Gwynn out there. Schwarbs has a .968 OPS and Bryce Harper has looked much more like elite Bryce than “not elite” Bryce.
It’s true that the Marlins, A’s, and Red Sox aren’t very good, but it’s also true that that Braves and Cubs stretch was a lot harder than we had probably realized at the time. Atlanta is 29-13 with the best win percentage in baseball. Chicago is 27-15 and leading the NL Central. And sure, a bunch of their wins came against the Phils, but the Braves have won series against teams like the Dodgers and Guardians while Chicago has series wins against the Rays and Padres.
So things balance out as they always do. If the Phils can take 2 of 3 from the Red Sox, they’ll be in a good position to test themselves against league-average Pittsburgh and Cincy in the next two series. They could be back to .500 before Memorial Day if they keep this form.
This is where we’re at right now:
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com