Keep The Winning Streak Going: Phillies vs. Marlins Series Preview, August 17-19
Aug 16, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Twins outfielder Luke Keaschall (15) is caught stealing after being tagged out by Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Edmundo Sosa (33) during the first inning at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Nick Wosika-Imagn Images
The Phillies are on a winning streak; can they keep ot going?
The past month has been a truly up-and-down rollercoaster for the Philadelphia Phillies, as since the All-Star break, they hold a 13-14 record. Obviously not the worst stretch of Phillies baseball, as they’ve essentially been mid since they hosted the All-Star Game; however, their lack of solid consecutive play on the field has resulted in their deficit in the National League East increasing and their lead for the second NL Wild Card almost disappearing.
They currently sit as the No. 2 Wild Card, tied with the Padres, but the Diamondbacks sit just one game back, the Marlins 2.5 games back, the Cardinals three games back, and the Pirates, Reds, and Nationals sitting between 6.5 and seven games behind Philadelphia.
The playoff race is still very wide open in the National League, and right now, .500 baseball isn’t going to be good enough the rest of the way to secure them a playoff spot. The Phillies’ next three weeks feature multiple matches against teams they’re either chasing in Atlanta or teams right behind them in Miami, St. Louis and Arizona.
Offense Getting Back On Track
After multiple games where the Phillies were simply not scoring enough runs to even compete in games, the Phillies finally had a full series of complete offense, scoring 23 runs against Minnesota. It’s the first time the Phillies have scored 20+ runs in a three-game series since their June 18-21 series against the Mets.
The longball was on display, as the Phillies hit five homers in the series (two from Schwarber, and one from Bohm, Stott, and Marsh), but bulk scoring was on display as well, as Philadelphia had four innings this series where they scored three runs or more in the frame. The big one was the seven-run outburst in the fifth inning of Saturday night’s game.
Now, in no way are the Phillies’ bats back for the rest of the year, as we’ve seen this song and dance before. The bats get hot for a series, everyone feels great, and then bang, the Phillies are back to scoring 0-1 runs a game, striking out in the double digits, and everyone panics.
This past series did show signs of things the Phillies struggle to do, and that’s mounting comebacks after their starters put them in deep holes. We’ve seen plenty of Aaron Nola or Andrew Painter starts not go well to start, and when the team goes down early, the game already seems over.
However, they fought back, and they did so with the whole lineup contributing. In the past, they’ve often relied on players to carry them through stretches of the year to produce, and when it comes time to all produce in October, the light gets too bright.
The starting pitching on this team will allow the Phillies to win a World Series if they can make the postseason, but scoring two runs or less in most games will not be significant enough to get the job done. They have time to continue working on it, but producing more runs needs to be the key, and if this series was a sign, they may be on their way to doing that.
The Vegas Boys Are Hot
A big reason to incease in offense has been the effectiveness of two of the Phillies lefties, Bryce Harper and Bryson Stott.
If anyone has benefitted from Luis Arraez’s arrival in Philadelphia, it’s the showman himself, as Bryce Harper has been a more complete player since Arraez has been placed behind him in the order. In the 12 games since Arraez made his debut, Harper has only hit .263 with one home run and four RBIs, but has walked 19 times in those 12 games.
Before these past 12 games, it took Harper the previous 33 games to total 19 walks. His on-base percentage has jumped nearly 20 points over the past two weeks, giving more opportunities for Arraez’s .315 average to come through with runners on base.
As for his fellow Vegas buddy, Bryson Stott has arguably been the Phillies’ best offensive player over the past few months. Heading into the Twins series, Stott had an .849 OPS since June 1, ranking near the top of all of baseball in that category since then. His batting average, which sat at a season’s worst .214 heading into June, is now up over 50 points to .265.
Stott was forced to move over to third base following the acquisition of Arraez back at the trade deadline, but the move hasn’t caused any setbacks in his defensive or offensive side of his game.
Aaron Nola Is Back?
The Phillies have an Aaron Nola start in this series again, and for the first time all season, the assumption that the Phillies will go into the game expecting to get shelled may not be there.
Over his past eight starts, Nola’s numbers have quietly improved, not to the point where he’s back to being top of the league successful, but at a bare minimum a serviceable veteran arm in the rotation. Since July, Nola has tossed 45 innings, the most in an eight-start stretch all season long, posting a 2.97 ERA over his last four starts. His ERA is 4.00 during that stretch, but that’s still down from his 5.33 season ERA.
He’s tossed 51 strikes over those eight games, tossing five innings or more in each of those starts. One of his best starts of the season came this past Thursday night, when Nola tossed a season-high nine strikeouts against the Twins in the Field of Dreams.
Is Aaron Nola going to be the first, second, or third go-to guy in the Phillies rotation come the playoffs? No. However, the team needs better starting pitching down the stretch to help them get into the playoffs, and better yet, will need a fourth starter if they get there. Nola will likely never be his top-of-the-line Cy Young self again, but the Phillies need a veteran fourth starter that can toss five innings or so and not give up 5+ runs a start. Over this stretch, Nola has been that, and the Phillies are hoping it continues.
Game Times and Broadcasts
Monday, August 17th, 6:40 PM ET, NBC Sports Philadelphia, 94.1 WIP
Tuesday, August 18th, 6:40 PM ET, NBC Sports Philadelphia, 94.1 WIP
Wednesday, August 19th, 6:05 PM ET, NBC Sports Philadelphia, 94.1 WIP
Pitching Matchups
Game 1: Janson Junk (RHP, 6-7, 4.41 ERA) vs. Cristopher Sánchez (LHP, 15-4, 2.54 ERA)
Game 2: TBD vs. Zack Wheeler (RHP, 10-4, 2.89 ERA)
Game 3: Sandy Alcantara (RHP, 13-7, 3.43 ERA) vs. Aaron Nola (RHP, 4-9, 5.33 ERA)
The Numbers
- Record
- Phillies: 67-58
- Marlins: 64-61
- Run Differential
- Phillies: 9
- Marlins: 20
- Runs Scored Per Game
- Phillies: 4.46
- Marlins: 4.4
- Runs Allowed Per Game
- Phillies: 4.39
- Marlins: 4.24
Matt Brown
Matt has been a Philadelphia sports fan all his life and spent four years at Penn State University majoring in Broadcast Journalism and minoring in Sports Studies. He previously covered Penn State’s field hockey, men’s and women’s basketball, and baseball teams while writing for a Penn State blog called Onward State. He has now covered the Phillies, Eagles, and Sixers for Philly Sports Reports since October 2024 and wants to pursue a career in Sports Journalism.
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