Phillies

All the Phillies Needed was a Little Home Cooking to Get Back to their Winning Ways

By Anthony SanFilippo

Published: Jun 18th, 2024 · 10:43 AM EDT

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Rob Thomson did something unusual as he sat down for his postgame press conference following the Phillies’ 9-2 shellacking of the San Diego Padres on Monday.

Normally, the manager takes a seat, pauses for a moment while he gives the box score a quick once over, then looks up and out to the gathered media to answer questions.

On Monday, there was no momentary pause. There was no routine cursory study of the game stats. Instead, there was five words from the manager that were said almost as a sigh of relief.

“It’s good to be home,” he said.

The Phillies will never make excuses for mediocre or subpar play. They came into Monday’s game the losers of 5-of-7, struggling for the first time since the first week of April, and suddenly causing some angst among a fan base that had grown accustomed to winning on a nightly basis for two months.

But the reality is that the travel was brutal.

“It felt like we were gone for a month,” said Kyle Schwarber, who continued to don his Babe Ruth costume as he does every June, hitting two more homers Monday.

JUNE KYLE SCHWARBER IS REAL!!!!

This is his 40th homer in June since 2021 in just 94 games! pic.twitter.com/p9xykqRfvt

— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) June 17, 2024

MLB did the Phillies no favors with the London Series. While it was cool for them to be a part of it and be on the national stage, and while Phillies fans showed out and proved why they’re the best fan base in North America by travelling with the team and selling out stadiums in London, Boston, and Baltimore, the way the schedule was constructed was brutal.

A week-long trip out west, home for three days, and then back out on the road for two weeks.

Imagine the jet lag going through all those time zones, sleeping in different hotel beds, and still being asked to perform at the most elite level?

It’s not easy.

The Mets, who were also in London with the Phillies, got to fly straight home and play games at Citi Field after the London Series. They’ve won six straight. They didn’t have to drag their asses up and down the Northeast corridor for a whole other week.

On top of that, the Phillies didn’t even get an off day at home. Nope, they were right back at it Monday. And all the things that everybody was worrying about over the past week suddenly disappeared, at least for one night:

• Cristopher Sanchez was rocked in Boston. He had extra rest before that start and wasn’t sharp. Back on his routine Monday, he pitched seven innings, allowed one earned run, and yielded just six hits while striking out five. He also ran his streak to 52 innings without allowing a home run – the longest active streak in the majors.
• The offense, which had seemed to cool off considerably in the past couple weeks, rapped out 18 hits. Schwarber homered twice. Alec Bohm stayed red hot with a 3-run homer that put the Phillies well out in front. The Phillies had 41 plate appearances in eight innings and reached base 21 times.
• After struggling for a month, Bohm has gotten back to being the offensive dynamo he was for the first month of the season. Maybe it was the off day in Boston, but in his last four games, Bohm is 11-for-18. He also became the first Phillie since Raul Ibanez in 2009 to have 60 RBI in their first 70 games played.

Make that 60 RBI for Alec Bohm this season! pic.twitter.com/3MGPSQ5OA4

— MLB (@MLB) June 18, 2024

• Schwarber has now hit 60 home runs in the month of June in his career. He’s done it in 172 games. That’s the fastest in that month all-time in MLB history and the second fastest in any month ever (Juan Gonzalez hit 60 in 167 August games).
• Rafael Marchan had four hits. It was his first multi-hit game in the majors since August, 2021. He also fired a perfect strike on a strike-em-out-throw-em-out double play to nail Ha-Song Kim at second base. All the concern about making up for J.T. Realmuto can be tempered by starts like this from Marchan and Garrett Stubbs (who has a hit in seven straight starts and has also gunned out a couple of runners on the bases).

It’s a pitcher catcher thing..

Cash the prop of the day🏧

» Cristopher Sanchez✅💰
Over 3.5 K https://t.co/VTCoqMbLtE pic.twitter.com/DZeM5rPtk4

— ChitoCoins (@ChitoCoins) June 18, 2024

• Trea Turner returned from missing 38 games with a hamstring tear, and without even a rehab assignment, had two hits and made a diving stop in the field to turn the Phillies’ fourth double play of the game to end the contest. He seemed to be taking it easier running around the bases and didn’t try to steal a bag. It seems like he’s easing his way back into the game, which makes sense. It should also be noted that Turner got a standing ovation from the crowd as he came to the plate for his first at bat. This one wasn’t orchestrated. It was organic – which is so much more genuine.
• Brandon Marsh was on base three times and had two hits in his first meaningful contributions since coming off the injured list himself on Saturday. The one out he made he struck out looking against a lefty reliever.
• Bryce Harper had two more hits, including a double. He’s quietly putting up numbers that are going to get him into the MVP conversation if he maintains them all season.
• Nick Castellanos was out taking batting practice early on Monday. About an hour before the rest of the team took the field, he was out there with one batting cage partner – his son Liam. It translated well. Castellanos hit three balls hard in four at bats. Two of them were doubles to the left center field gap. As he likes to say, “Happy people hit better,” and there’s no doubt that he’s at his happiest when his boy is in town.

Frankly, there’s no doubt the entire Phillies team is happier at home. The Phillies are 28-10 at home this season, the the best home record in baseball. They’re 7-0-3 in their last 10 series at CBP and will improve that record with a win either Tuesday or Wednesday.

The setback last week happened. The Phillies accept it. They know what happened and why. But if there’s anything you should know about this year’s Phillies team, they aren’t going to dwell on a tough week, or let it impact them moving forward. They’re going to reset and come right back at you in waves.

And at the crest of those waves is a sold-out ballpark that fuels the team even more.