Phillies Pitching and Offense Stays Hot in Series Win Over the Diamondbacks
The Philadelphia Phillies picked up a huge series win against the Arizona Diamondbacks this weekend. The team won the first two games of the series before dropping the final game, 11-9 in extra innings. Looking back in time to a couple of series ago, the Phillies were not looking good at all, with a record of 13-12, which included being swept by the Mets. However, the team picked up a huge series win against the Cubs that looked to provide a spark to get back on track. Looking to the present, that series win did exactly what some thought it would do. The Phillies have won six out of their next eight games to raise their record up to 19-15. During the series against the Diamondbacks, the Phillies looked like the team they were to start the year, with a complete team effort.
The Pitching Staff Comes Through in Clutch Spots
The major takeaway from this series was the confidence in the pitching staff and, more specifically, the bounce-back performance of Aaron Nola. Nola had his best start of the entire season and looked like the version of Aaron Nola that Philadelphia fans love. In the second game of the series, Nola went six innings while allowing zero runs on four hits en route to his first win of the year. The performance stops his brutal 0-5 start to the season and can look to swing the momentum for him. Outside of Nola, the Phillies were able to get some confidence in their bullpen throughout games one and two. The group at the beginning of the season was among the worst in the bullpen, but performed well throughout the series. In the first game of the series, the unit gave up zero runs through four innings of work, including a ninth inning by Jose Alvarado. To follow that up, the unit only allowed two runs in three innings of work, with both runs being counted to Carlos Hernandez. If the group can keep showing that they can put in quality innings, it will help the Phillies tremendously towards the end of the season.
The Bats Come Alive Back at the Bank
The Phillies had gone through a dry period during the middle of April, but in this series, the bats came alive. Throughout the three-game series, the team put up a total of 19 runs, which included seven home runs. Additionally, it was certain players who came out slowly that finally found their groove. Starting with Bryce Harper, who homered in the third game of the series. Harper has started the year slowly with a 0.234 batting average with a 0.786 on-base percentage. Along with Harper, it was J.T. Realmuto who struggled this year with a 0.248 batting average and only 12 RBIs on the year. Both players had a great series and got some of their power back with a home run each. Finally, it was Max Kepler who was a huge factor in this series for the Phillies. In Game One, Kepler hit the go-ahead home run to give the Phillies the 3-2 win. In the next game, Kepler hit an early home run to give the Phillies the early lead. Kepler, off his weekend success, pushed his batting average up to 0.264 to go along with five home runs. The Phillies will need all three players to have massive impacts heading towards the rest of the regular season. More positively, Kyle Schwarber has continued his outstanding play this season. Schwarber is batting 0.242 this season; however, he is 10th in the MLB in OPS with a 0.956 percentage to go along with 12 home runs on the season. This series offers a lot of promise for the Phillies heading into a pivotal series against the Tampa Bay Rays on the road.
