Phillies Getting Hot at the Right Time With Some Adjustments
(AP Photo/Bailey Hillesheim)
The Philadelphia Phillies have been a rollercoaster of a team. Even after firing Rob Thomson and appointing Don Mattingly, the team has not been able to find true consistency worthy of a contender, especially on offense. That all seems to be changing for the better just in time for October.
Current Streak
The Phillies are 14-5 in August at the time of writing and coming off their longest win streak of the season, which currently sits at 7 games after consecutive sweeps of the Twins and Marlins and a win over the Cardinals on Friday night. That sweep of the Marlins is especially important as the Miami team is one of the many contenders for an NL Wild Card spot.
The driver of this streak has been the offense. The Phillies have slashed .273/.368/.410 in August, seeing constant traffic on the base paths. The trade-deadline addition of 3-time batting champ Luis Arraez has helped, but it’s not been the only catalyst behind the improvement, as Alec Bohm explained the team had a meeting regarding their approach going into at-bats
Phillies slash line as a unit from August 1 to August 20th
The results have been notoriously great. The Phils have managed to accumulate at least 2 walks in every game of the month and have only had double digit strikeouts in one game during the span from August 1 to August 20th. Since August 1st they have a 12.7% walk rate, and a 15% strikeout rate, both marks are the best in the league. They have raised their collective OBP by 9 points just in the last 18 games. Great news for a team that still ranks in the bottom third of the league in on-base percentage
There have been some growing pains. The team had a total of 36 men left on base during the three games against the Blue Jays in Toronto, and only managed to score 7 runs in three games against St. Louis. They lost both of those series back-to-back, but the blueprint was there, something was brewing. To leave men on base you first gotta put men on base.
During the current winning streak they have averaged almost as many walks (4.2) as strikeouts (5.5) per game. This would be the first time the Phillies have a full month with a walk rate over 10% and/or a strikeout rate under 20% this season. Either of those will help.
The standouts players.
Phillie’s hitters stats from August 1st to August 20th
Bryce Harper has been one of the many beneficiaries of a new approach at the plate. The team’s franchise player has slashed .310/.518/.517 for a 1.035 OPS this month with 3 HRs and a team leading 15 runs scored in that span.
Bryson Stott has also been terrific. Lets all remember Stott had an amazing second half of the season in 2025 and it seems he is primed to repeat that this year. Before Wednesday’s game, Stott had managed a 12-game hitting streak and a 20-game on-base streak.
Lastly there is Alec Bohm. The now first-basement had struggled all-season long until this month. He is hitting .354/.403/.492 since the beginning of August and while he has only recorded 4 walks he also only has 5 strikeouts while driving in 12 runs in 18 games.
Whether the team can keep this up is yet to be seen, as mentioned before, they have not put up a walk rate over 10% in a single month yet. Even if it’s not quite to the caliber we have seen this month, raising the quality of their at-bats will be key for a team that has struggled in playoffs past with pitch selection and strikeouts. The power and contact ability are clearly there, now can they put themselves in the best situations to cause damage and lengthen their lineup when the lights get brighter? The fans surely hope so.
About the Author
Originally from Venezuela, I inherited my love for baseball from going to the ballpark in my home town with my parents. As season ticket holders for our local team Leones del Caracas our main focus was in Venezuela’s winter league but used to follow venezuelan baseball players in MLB regardless of teams. After moving to Philadelphia in my teen years and living there for 10 years, I inevitably fell in love with Red October and the Phillie Phanatic.