“Bryce Harper” by Ian D’Andrea (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Two weeks ago, the Flyers were on fire looking to set sail on a deep playoff run, the Eagles training camp wasn’t riddled with injury problems, and the 76ers were still playing in the bubble. During that period, the Phillies were bottom feeders in the NL East, looking at yet again another disappointing season. As we all know with sports, a lot can change in a matter of two weeks, and now the Phillies are the hottest team in Philadelphia.
Behind the bats of Rhys Hoskins and Andrew McCutchen waking up, a plethora of moves to sure up the struggling bullpen, and starting pitchers like Zach Eflin and Spencer Howard settling in, this team is now in second place in their respective division. Bryce Harper made a big statement after a disappointing loss to the Braves a couple weeks ago on Aug. 22, saying the team needed to win “9 out of 10” games to stay relevant in the playoff chase. The Phillies have answered the bell and have won 9 of their last 10 after that statement from the 330 million dollar man.
The reason this team is where they are is because of their first basemen. Hoskins has seen a ton of criticism for his lackluster play from last year and the start of this year, but he has been able to turn it around by having 16 hits and six home runs in his last 10 games. Having that, next to his ability to see pitches and take walks, he’s shaping into his former self.
Pitching has been an issue for the Phillies this year, especially in the bullpen. Phillies General Manager Matt Klentak knew he had to make a move with this offense heating up. He traded for relief pitchers Brandon Workman and David Phelps to help solidify the back end of the pen along with Hector Neris and JoJo Romero. We will not know if these moves work out in the long run, but the front office is telling their fans that they want to win now. Starting pitching has been a bright spot for this team at top, with Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola putting up great numbers. The back end of the rotation started off slow, but with Eflin and Howard having great starts, look for this team on the back end to win some games. When the Phillies threw a monster contract at Harper, the organization said the time to return to the playoffs is now. With an expanded playoff due to the pandemic, the possibility to see some October baseball is high.
Look for Harper and J.T. Realmuto to step up in the back end and continue their monster seasons. This duo must be the best 3–4 punch in baseball. Also, look out for rookie third baseman Alec Bohm. With second baseman Scott Kingery on the DL, that will open up more time for Bohm to show off his impressive bat and arm on the corner. He’s slashing .317/.375/.492 on the season, and his pop hasn’t hit full stride yet. The Phillies are set to embark on divisional road games versus New York and Miami, so these games are going to get really important on the road to postseason baseball.
Connor Gabe is a fourth-year media and culture major.