Phillies, Fueled by Young Guns, Sweep Padres in Dominant Weekend Showing

The Philadelphia Phillies have always played well in San Diego. They advanced to the World Series by beating the Padres in the 2022 National League Championship Series, and the Phils have not lost a regular season series in San Diego since August of 2018. Maybe it is the hot weather, maybe it is the salty air, or maybe it is the ghost of John Kruk lurking around the first base bag (yes, I know that Petco Park was built after he retired), but America’s so-called “finest city” has served the Phillies well for the past six seasons, and this go around was no exception.

Aaron Nola and Ranger Suarez each pitched eight spectacular innings in games one and two, respectively, and the Phillies’ well-rounded offense shined, posting 22 runs against the Padres’ pitching.

Game one featured an offensive explosion from the Phillies’ starting nine, with Kyle Schwarber leading the game off with his seventh home run of the year, and Bryce Harper, Brandon Marsh, Nick Castellanos, and J.T. Realmuto all going yard to contribute to the Phils’ nine-run effort. In game two, Alec Bohm played the role of hero with a two-run home run and a two-RBI single, and in game three, he upped his season slash line to .365/.441/.615 with a three-hit performance, extending his hitting streak to 12 games. At times, game three was a little dicey, but a big day at the plate for Bryson Stott and J.T. Realmuto pushed the Phils past the Padres, securing the series sweep. Bryson Stott‘s second home run of the evening was a two-run, go-ahead blast to right-center field, and J.T. Realmuto extended the Phillies’ lead with a two-run homer in the sixth and an RBI single in the seventh.

Also in game three, Taijuan Walker made his first start of the regular season, going 6.1 innings and allowing six runs on eight hits and striking out four. His fastball was sitting around 91.1 mph, which is almost two mph slower than his average in 2023. Walker’s line, however, does not do him justice, as his first six innings were a promising sign that he really may be healthy, which has been questioned due to his dip in velocity.

With the Phillies up by one, Jeff Hoffman came in to finish the seventh, and Yunior Marte and Jose Alvarado closed it out for the Phillies, with Marte earning his second hold and Alvarado earning his fifth save.

Two Streaks Like None Other

Putting Alec Bohm‘s current hot streak into words simply does not do him justice. In his last 30 at-bats, Bohm has 17 hits (.567), eight RBI, a home run, six runs scored, and only three strikeouts. Eight of Bohm’s last ten games have been multi-hit efforts, and he now has a season OPS of 1.056. He is third in MLB in batting average and second in RBI, OBP, and doubles.

Even the Padres’ manager had something to say about Alec Bohm: “This guy, Bohm, man, he’s one of the best right-handed hitters in the game right now,” said Mike Shildt. “He’s seeing it and swinging it really well right now.”

And as Bohm’s streak continues, one also came to an end on Wednesday, and before this series, Trea Turner spoke with the media about his historic stolen base streak.

“I think it’s pretty cool just to pick up some bags and be efficient at it,” Turner said after his streak of 41 consecutive successful stolen bases came to an end. He was four stolen bases shy of tying former outfielder Ichiro Suzuki and nine shy of tying Cardinals’ outfielder Vince Coleman. “Hopefully I’ll start another one.”

Turner went on to comment that he feels that, without the streak weighing him down mentally, he can be even more aggressive on the basepaths, especially now with the new pickoff rules that were put into place at the beginning of 2023.

Breaking Down the Starting Pitching Situation

It is always good to see a veteran like Taijuan Walker return from the injured list, but the philosophy of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” also holds a good amount of validity. The Phillies’ 2024 starting rotation, featuring the aforementioned Nola and Suarez, along with Cristopher Sanchez, Zack Wheeler, and Spencer Turnbull has been the best in the business. Phillies pitchers have delivered quality starts in 18 of the 29 games they have played. Ranger Suarez‘s 1.32 ERA is good for the second-best in baseball, and Zack Wheeler‘s 1.93 ERA is the third-best in the National League. Christopher Sanchez and Spencer Turnbull are a few innings short of qualifying, but they have a 2.96 ERA and a 1.33 ERA, respectively.

While this pure dominance is not up for debate, some decisions most certainly are. Unless the Phillies stick with a six-man rotation, Spencer Turnbull, who has only allowed four earned runs in 27 innings of work, will be moved to the bullpen to fulfill Ricardo Pinto‘s role as the long man.

Of course, the Phillies are going to give Walker a plethora of opportunities since he signed a $72 million contract with the club in December of 2022. From the business perspective, it makes plenty of sense. The Phillies want to make it clear to impending free agents that if you ink a big-time deal with the Phillies and experience some bumps in the road—whether they are injury or performance-related—you will not be run out of town. However, one could also argue that putting the five most successful pitchers in the rotation at any given time is an attractive approach for a competitive player. However, if this were the case, Turnbull would remain in the rotation.

As of now, Turnbull is slated to pitch in Anaheim on Tuesday, giving a few of the Phillies’ veteran starters an extra day of rest.

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