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The Drought is Over, and The Magic Continues for the Phillies
By Luke Arcaini
Published:
The Phillies have won 9 games in a row, and it feels like they’ve won each game a different way. Who is this Phillies team?
Coming into Sunday’s matinee against the St. Louis Cardinals, the Phillies had won 8 games in a row and closed a once 9.5-game gap behind the Braves down to just 3 games. The Phillies came out flat, and Cristopher Sanchez didn’t have his best stuff. The Cardinals took a 4-0 lead into the bottom of the 9th, and brought in their closer, Riley O’Brien, in to close things out for the Cardinals.
O’Brien entered today’s game with a 2.94 ERA and 33 saves, tied for 2nd in all of Major League Baseball. He has not allowed an earned run since July 20th. Bryce Harper doubled to start the 9th, followed by two flyouts from Luis Arraez and Brandon Marsh. The Phillies, down to their final out in a 4-run deficit, needed to scrape some hits together…and then chaos happened.
- JT Realmuto single
- Justin Crawford walk
- Edmundo Sosa 3-run double
- Bryan De La Cruz game-tying RBI single
Jhoan Duran started to warm up in the Phillies bullpen to pitch the hypothetical 10th inning, but the Phillies wouldn’t end up needing him. Kyle Schwarber stepped up to the plate. Schwarber is the last Phillie to hit a walkoff home run…that was 1,170 days ago. June 9th, 2023 against the Dodgers. It was the longest streak in baseball by an extremely wide margin.
O’Brien immediately got up in the count 0-2 on Schwarber, but Schwarber worked it to a 2-2 count. On the 6th pitch, O’Brien left a sinker up, and Kyle Schwarber got all of it, blasting it to the batters eye in centerfield for a walkoff home run.
Here’s the call from Scott Franzke.
This is a game that the Phillies would have lost 4-0 if it happened a month ago. In fact, out of the last 9 games, I’d say more than half were losses a month ago. But something feels different. This team looks more determined than ever. They’re not crushing long balls out left and right. They’re working pitchers, running the bases smartly, finding gaps, and communicating after at-bats. They look like a complete, fundamental baseball team that thinks they can win any game in the world.
It starts from the top. Although Don Mattingly has made some questionable calls, specifically with the bullpen, over the last few months, his conversation about going up with a plan worked. Yes, you wouldn’t think that would need to be said out loud. But obviously, something clicked for the Phillies. They’re taking free 90s. They’re not trying to demolish the baseball. Alec Bohm and Bryson Stott are in the hottest stretches of their career. Bryce Harper is walking more than ever. Justin Crawford looks like a fantastic 9-hole in a Major League lineup.
It’s just all working for the Phillies, and it seems like that’s never the case. For a team that was out of playoff position two weeks ago, they look like they can beat anybody on planet earth right now, in multiple different ways.
The Phillies of a month ago would’ve packed their bags heading into the 9th inning and started preparing for their west coast trip. Maybe a pennant race is the fuel. The Braves and Brewers will square off tonight in the Little League Classic, and if the Brewers come out on top, the Phillies will be two games back of Atlanta in the NL East.
There are 29 games left in the regular season. A good chunk of those games will come against the Braves, with a chance to prove something. Right now, nobody in Major League Baseball wants to play the Phillies. They are never out of a game, and they’ve shown that over the last nine games.
I don’t know what was in that corn out in Iowa, but it worked. The Phillies look like they are on a mission day in and day out.
It’s why the “wake me up in the playoffs” comments always bother me. Baseball is the most beautiful game in the world because of the highs and lows. The season is long. You’re going to go through tough stretches. But they play 162 for a reason, and the Phillies are showing you why right now.
We have a pennant race, folks.
Luke Arcaini has been writing about the Phillies for 6 seasons, and is now in his 2nd year covering for Phillies down at Citizens Bank Park for Crossing Broad. Follow him on Twitter @ArcainiLuke