'We want to bully teams': How Philadelphia Phillies became the National League's best

BALTIMORE – They are finally home, and almost whole. And somehow, the Philadelphia Phillies are better off now than they were six weeks ago, when their $300 million shortstop landed on the injured list with a hamstring strain.

Trea Turner will return Monday night to a team that went 27-13 without him, that stretched a half-game lead in the National League East to 10 games, and that put to rest the slow starts that dogged this club the past two years, relegating them to wild card status come playoff time.

Since leaving Philadelphia on June 5, they’ve gone to London and back, swung through Boston and Baltimore, where four interleague losses in six games slowed their roll, but still hold an eight-game lead on the six-time defending East champion Atlanta Braves.

Losing consecutive series for just the second time since early April will only add a little salt to a hunger that’s not abated since the club reported for spring training intent on completing their mission to win a World Series.

“The team we are,” first baseman Bryce Harper tells USA TODAY Sports, “the mentality we have, we hate losing games more than we like winning ‘em.”

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At 47-24, they are for now the class of the National League, one year after blowing an NL Championship Series lead, a second consecutive pennant slipping from their grasp. It is a momentous leap from the 33-31 and 35-34 records they toted on this date in those years.

Here’s how they got to such lofty heights, and how they plan to stay there:

Stars and subs

It’s an expensive clubhouse, this Phillies room, where you can’t walk too far without bumping into one of the half-dozen All-Stars with nine-figure contracts.

Yet two of them - Turner and catcher J.T. Realmuto – landed on the injured list in May and June; Turner’s timing was particularly unfortunate, given he’d posted a .343 average and .852 OPS in 33 games, one year after his rough start in Philly.

But a career-defining stint from a career backup ensured the club did not miss a beat.

Edmundo Sosa, who has never played more than 113 games in a season, was irrepressible during Turner’s absence, posting an .872 OPS, four homers and 13 extra-base hits in 32 starts.

“The last couple years, the baseball world looked at him like a utility man,” says manager Rob Thomson. “Now, they look at him like a shortstop.

“His value is really high right now, as it should be.”

Even as Turner returns to shortstop, Sosa, 28, should cobble together semi-regular playing time filling in as a right-handed hitting second base option and occasionally in the corner outfield spots. Garrett Stubbs and Rafael Marchán likely won’t be so decorated filling in for Realmuto, out until July after meniscus surgery, but that doesn’t mean they can’t help out: Marchán hit his first career homer in the club’s Friday win at Baltimore.

Harper and Turner and Kyle Schwarber – buttressing his rep as the greatest June hitter in baseball history, one slot above Babe Ruth – will always command headlines and salary and sometimes hog the run production. But third baseman Alec Bohm has been their most productive hitter this season, leading the majors with 26 doubles and ranking second in the NL with 57 RBI.

The marquee might look different come October. Yet the Phillies are hardly taking for granted the contributions from every corner of the roster.

“We don’t care where you’re from. Who you are. What you do. How old you are,” says Harper. “As long as you can help us win games and have a good head on your shoulders and understand that what matters is the name on the front, you’re part of this team. It’s a lot of fun to watch.

“For ‘Sose’ to step in for Trea, that’s a tough piece to step in for, Trea being Trea. For him to do that is huge for us.”

A push from the starting block

Math is hard, but this formula is easy: If you can trot out three starting pitchers who are durable, highly effective and get deep into games, it gives you an excellent chance to win 60% of your games. Which, of course, computes to a 97-win season.

Well, the Phillies have gotten more than they’ve paid for from their starting rotation.

Sure, signing Zack Wheeler to a $118 million contract before the 2020 season set the stage for this franchise’s run – and extending him for $42 million a year through the 2027 season secures a franchise anchor for several seasons. Jumping the field and guaranteeing Aaron Nola $172 million as free agency began last winter ensured a longtime stalwart stayed home.

Yet the rise of Ranger Suárez might be the ultimate in found money.

Suárez and the Phillies have been in lockstep with their respective rises, and since they had to go the wild-card route the past two seasons, it’s been Suárez who has started NLDS Game 1 each of the past two seasons – games the Phillies won to set the stage for upsets of Atlanta.

In 2024, Suárez might be going from starting blocks to finish line as an elite performer.

The left-hander ranks second in the major leagues with a 1.77 ERA and first with a 0.88 WHIP and notched a win in 10 of his first 13 starts (joining Hall of Famers Steve Carlton and Grover Cleveland Alexander as only Phillies to do so). For the first time in his career, he’s both stretched out and healthy (save for a scare when a batted ball struck his pitching hand), and on pace to top 30 starts and touch 200 innings.

Heady stuff for a guy who was a part-time closer three years ago and only continues to shatter expectations.

“We put him back in the rotation and he’s just thrived,” says Thomson. “Velocity’s gone up, command is excellent, secondary pitches have improved over year, and knock on wood he’s healthy.

“I think he’s done a lot better than, if I were to put a grade on him, probably a full grade better, or more, than I would have thought.”

The pressure on the top trio is lessened by the presence of Cristopher Sanchez, the power lefty in his first full season in the rotation. Sanchez has pitched to a 3.07 ERA in 13 starts, although his lack of a track record might bear watching in the second half.

Still, veteran Taijuan Walker has worked back from a shoulder injury and swingman Spencer Turnbull gives them a No. 6 starter many teams would envy.

Little wonder the rotation leads the NL with 418 innings pitched and an ERA of 2.99 that’s second only to the Yankees.

Lock it down

Sure, the Phillies are just 6-6 in extra-inning games, a venture that amounts to a crapshoot when every bonus frame starts with a runner on second.

Yet that is not for lack of confidence.

“Late in games, if it’s going into extras, we kind of look around and go, ‘Heh, still got the edge,’” says setup man Jeff Hoffman, who has a 0.89 ERA in 31 appearances. “We know the other team doesn’t have this type of thunder still left in the ‘pen.

“It’s nice to know we still have that depth and we’re rolling out guys that are 98 to 100 every night.”

Indeed, the punchouts just don’t stop out of the bullpen.

Phillies relievers rank second in the majors with 10.2 strikeouts per nine innings and a 3.2 strikeout-walk ratio. Hoffman, who pairs a 96-mph fastball with a wipeout slider, is striking out 32.8% of batters, ranking in the 94^th percentile in the majors.

Closer Jose Alvarado comes at you with a 98-mph sinker. Second-year man Orion Kerkering sits at 98 mph and has a beguiling sweeper, holding opponents to a .484 OPS. And lefty Matt Strahm set a club record with 27 consecutive scoreless appearances, and ranks second in the NL among relievers with a 39% strikeout rate.

“That’s just what we do,” says Hoffman. “It’s how we kind of identify ourselves: We want to bully teams. We want to be the deeper team that can go deeper into the night.”

Stay salty

The Phillies make no bones over the bitter end to last season, when they led the NLCS 2-0 and 3-2, only to drop the final two games at Citizens Bank Park.

In some ways, spring training felt more a continuation of 2023 than a new start. Perhaps that’s why they’ve broken from the gate like it’s autumn, and not summer.

“When we stepped back on the field at the Bank the first time, it felt like it was still October, like it never stopped. That was a great feeling,” says Hoffman. “I think that’s why the vibes have been so good. As soon as the season ended last year, we were all chomping at the bit to get back.

“It was a long winter. And once it was time for everyone to get back to Florida, everybody was ready to go.”

This long road trip was something of a hiccup, with five losses in eight games and rough outings from Nola in Boston and Wheeler in Baltimore. Yet the Phillies are home for 10 of their next 16 games, all against sub-.500 teams, before encountering Atlanta on July 5.

“We just gotta keep it going,” says Harper. “It’s a long season and just understanding that this is the first half of that. We just gotta keep rolling and playing our game and understanding who we are.”

Says Thomson of the road gambit: “Lot of travel. Good teams. Now we go home.”

Where the odds are even more in their favor, simply because the Phillies have proven this is what they are – a team both star-studded yet greater than the sum of its parts most every night.

“When it comes down to it, on paper, we’re as good as anybody,” says Hoffman. “And at the end of the day, we should look up and be in a good spot.”