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Phillies Can Learn Something by Watching the way the Guardians Play

Anthony SanFilippo

By Anthony SanFilippo

Published:

Jun 21, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper (3) looks on against the Arizona Diamondbacks after the seventh inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports

It was one year ago this week that Bryce Harper made his debut at first base in Cleveland against the Guardians.

It didn’t take long for Harper to let everyone know that this wasn’t an experiment.

You may remember him diving into the camera well at Progressive field to catch a foul pop up.

In the year since, Harper has proven that he not only could play first base adequately, but he’s played it well enough that there were some people who were whispering that he’s athletic enough to potentially win a gold glove at the position, which would be an incredible feat for someone who never played the position before last summer.

Then Friday night happened.

In what was easily Harper’s worst game at first base, ironically against the same Cleveland team he debuted at the position against 371 days prior, he looked like he had never played the position before.

He was involved in a botched run down on a clean pickoff attempt. He went after a ground ball that he shouldn’t have, forcing Cristopher Sanchez to try to cover first base on a grounder to Bryson Stott at second, leading to an error. He wasn’t able to catch a clean one-hop throw from Trea Turner, leading to a second error and he needed a lengthy replay review to somehow prove (I still don’t see it) that he was able to get a cleat on the first base bag to result in a ground out rather than a third error in the game.

The Phillies had other folks involved in these and other bungled plays. Turner didn’t back up second base in time on the blown rundown. Sanchez threw high to Stott on a second pick off, and Stott wasn’t able to get the tag down.

Both Cleveland runners, who should have been dead to rights on the basepaths, came around to score, offering the differential in a 3-1 Guardians win over the Phillies.

There was much consternation about how the Phillies were playing – that they didn’t show up. That they lacked focus. That the malaise of a 19-20 stretch of games after a scorching hot start to the season was finally getting to a breaking point for the fans.

And it was especially galling because it was coming against a Guardians team who is hot on the Phillies heels for the best record in baseball.

But that’s where some perspective is needed.

Yes, the Phillies were sloppy and terrible in the field. It was mostly uncharacteristic for this season, although Turner has been having issues since he signed with the Phillies.

And what I’m about to say is not an excuse for the Phillies. At this level, those fundamental plays need to be made. Even manager Rob Thomson, who rarely criticizes his team, said after the game that they need to “clean it up.”

“We’ve got to throw the ball accurately,” he said. “We’ve got to cover all our assignments and we didn’t do that early. We cleaned it up late, but we got to start right from the beginning of the game.”

He added that on the rundown play, Harper should have thrown the ball sooner to Stott, who was in the baseline, but when he didn’t, he had no choice but to throw it to the bag and Turner was late covering. Thomson said Turner should have been there as well.

And that’s all true. Harper should have covered the bag at first on the dropped ball by Sanchez. Sanchez should have made a better throw to Stott. Turner’s throws need to be more consistently accurate. It’s all true.

Here’s the thing. Cleveland does this to you. They do it to everyone.

Thomson warned us pre-game when talking about the challenge of facing the Guardians.

“They create a lot of runs,” Thomson said. “They run. They bunt. They hit and run. They do a lot of small ball stuff. And they’re very good defensively. They’re a complete team.”

And they did just that against the Phillies.

In both failed pickoffs, they were running. They tried a double steal, but Jose Ramirez was nailed at third base by J.T. Realmuto. Steven Kwan bunted for a hit. Bo Naylor executed a squeeze bunt to score a run.

And they are full of gamers who bust it on the basepaths on every play, forcing the defense to be quick and precise, which, of course, the Phillies weren’t.

It was only a matter of time before the cycle returned to a team finding success playing this way.

Cleveland has an underappreciated superstar n Ramirez, but beyond that, they are a collection of names you probably never heard of. Yes Kwan and David Fry were All-Stars this year, but both kind of came out of the blue. Their bullpen is sensational, with four absolute hammers on the back end, anchored by closer Emmanuel Clase, who is the best closer in the sport these days.

But they aren’t a big-time slug team. Their slugging percentage is .398, which is eighth in the American League. Their OPS is .711, which ranks seventh in the AL.

But they find ways to win, much like they did Friday. They manufacture runs and rely on their pitching.

The Phillies can’t complain about the pitching performances they got Friday. Sanchez was good. The bullpen was even better. Jose Ruiz, Jose Alvarado and Orion Kerkering pitched three innings, faced 11 batters, gave up one hit, one walk and struck out six.

The difference in the game was, the Guardians put pressure on the Phillies defense, and it faltered. The Phillies didn’t hit, and when they hit the ball hard, the Cleveland defense was superb, and didn’t falter.

Like the Guardians, the Phillies have had success by being a bit of a throwback themselves. They have made having starting pitchers who give you length in a game cool again. They are fast and aggressive on the basepaths and steal their share of bags too, and they too have relied on a very good bullpen to get to the top of the sport record-wise.

But the Phillies are a slug team, too. Their slugging percentage is high (pun intended) at .420, which ranks third in the National League. Their .748 OPS ranks second in the N.L. So, they are a bit of a hybrid. A mix of old school and new school baseball.

But a little more of the Cleveland mentality could help when the offense goes into a funk like Friday where Turner, Harper, Realmuto, Brandon Marsh and Nick Castellanos combine to go 0-for-20. You likely aren’t winning many of those games, and yet, had not the defense been a mess, it’s probably a 1-1 game heading to extras on Friday.

That’s how fine the line is between success and failure.

Time will tell if playing a 1970s brand of baseball, one that focuses on speed, defense and pitching, with run manufacturing a top priority, can lead to postseason success, but there’s a reason the Guardians have the second-best record in the sport, and it’s because they play the game a little differently than everyone else.

And if the Phillies aren’t careful, Cleveland could tie them for the best record by Sunday afternoon.

Anthony SanFilippo
Anthony SanFilippo

Anthony SanFilippo writes about the Phillies and Flyers for Crossing Broad and hosts a pair of related podcasts (Crossed Up and Snow the Goalie). A part of the Philadelphia sports media for a quarter century, Anthony also dabbles in acting, directing, teaching, and strategic marketing, which is why he has no time to do anything, but does it anyway. Follow him on Twitter @AntSanPhilly.

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