The Phillies are a different team since they last played the Braves. And this time the NL East could be on the line.
Rob Thomson was fired two days after a loss to the Braves. A turnaround ensued and has them sitting four games behind Atlanta in the division going into their four-game series at Citizens Bank Park.
PHOENIX — The last time the Phillies saw the Braves, their season was going in a very different direction.
Their last meeting on April 26 also happened to be Rob Thomson’s final game as the club’s manager. The 6-2 loss dropped the Phillies’ record to 9-19 to start the season and Thomson was fired two days later.
Don Mattingly took the reins as interim manager, and the team that had been on track to miss the playoffs entirely authored a stunning turnaround, and is back in contention for the National League East. As the Braves return to Philadelphia on Friday, their lead on the division — at one point a gargantuan 10½ games — sits at four.
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This series could determine the NL East. If the Phillies keep winning at the clip they have been lately, they would close within striking distance. But if they don’t, the race could be all but put to bed by the time the Braves leave Citizens Bank Park on Monday.
“I think we’re all excited for the challenge,” Kyle Schwarber said. “Hopefully that weather starts cooling down and it gets a little bit of a fall weather feel, and it starts feeling playoff-y, and the fan base is going to be rocking and rolling. Looking forward to a rowdy weekend.”
Plenty of ink has already been devoted to what changed for the Phillies since April: better pitching performances. Better hitting. A different outfield mix that works. An unconventional cleanup hitter with a contagious approach. A risky defensive shuffle that paid dividends. Several rookies coming into their own. And multiple astonishing comeback wins along the way.
Before the Phillies headed home from their nine-game West Coast trip on Wednesday afternoon, Mattingly said he felt as good about his club as he has all season.
“I think we’re showing up every day and playing, and it’s not really any different one day to the next, win or loss,” he said. “Yeah, I think we’re in a good spot right now.”
Another key has been the Phillies finding a way to handle what had been their most exploitable weakness: left-handed pitching.
From March to May, the Phillies had a collective .210 batting average and .659 OPS against left-handed pitchers. Their righties were struggling significantly, and their lefties weren’t able to carry the load.
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But things have steadily improved. Since June 1, the Phillies have a .265 average against lefties — good for fourth in baseball in that span — and a .739 OPS. August was their best month yet. As the offense has improved its discipline and approach as a whole, they hit .281 vs. left-handers, with just a 15% strikeout rate and a .370 on-base percentage.
On Tuesday, they knocked around Diamondbacks lefty Eduardo Rodriguez for eight hits. Rodriguez is in the midst of a career season, and the Phillies raised his ERA from 2.50 to 2.59.
The addition of right-handed hitters Derek Hill and Bryan De La Cruz has helped. So has the fact that Edmundo Sosa has been heating up, and Bryce Harper has started hitting lefties the way he has in the past. And while the Phillies brought in a left-handed bat at the deadline, Luis Arraez hits above .300 no matter the handedness of the pitcher.
“I think we’ve done a better job with them,” Mattingly said. “We’ve been able to mix and match the lineup a little bit, where we can put some righties in there that have traditionally hit lefties. I think that’s solidified us a little bit, and Harp’s actually hitting lefties now. He struggled a little bit, but he’s traditionally hit them. Schwarb’s hit them. Luis has hit them.
“I’m not really afraid to stack them, those lefties together up there, because they’ve handled lefties.”
But all of that will be put to the test on Friday in a pivotal moment of the season. Chris Sale is a bit of a different beast, and the Braves ace is set for a duel against Cristopher Sánchez in Friday’s series opener.
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Sale happened to be on the mound against the Phillies in that last meeting on April 26. He smothered them, holding them to one hit over six innings.
At 37 years old, the lefty still has high-90s fastball velocity — he touched triple digits in his shutout against the Dodgers last week — and pinpoint command. His 11-degree arm slot is the lowest among qualified left-handers this season, and it adds to the deception of his slider and changeup.
Schwarber and Trea Turner have handled Sale relatively well. Schwarber is 5-for-19 (.263) against him with two homers, while Turner is 6-for-19 (.316). The problem is, both of them are in the midst of ice-cold stretches.
Turner batted .158 on the road trip and Schwarber hit .171. Schwarber said he has been feeling a tick off in his timing, and has been alternately early and late at the plate over the last nine games.
“It’s frustrating,” Schwarber said. “But I know the things that I need to do, and I’m looking forward to getting the off day, get back home, and then get in there early and get right back to work and feel really confident. ... It’s past experience, right? And especially as baseball, where there are going to be times when you’re up, you’re down, and you have keep finding a way to be competitive, and that’s what I try to do on a daily basis, and get right back to work.”
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On Friday, the Braves offense will have a left-handed ace of its own to contend with in Sánchez. But to win, to the Phillies will need to hit.
And while they’re anticipating a playoff-like environment for what will be the biggest series of the regular season so far, the offense also wants to stick to the routines that helped it win 15 of its last 18 games.
“It’s trying to tame that, and trying to make sure that when you are out there, we’re doing what we always do,” Schwarber said. “Which is taking our at-bats, taking our approach, taking our game plan, executing, and going from there.”
With one month left in the season, the Phillies are jockeying for playoff positioning in the National League. And things are about to heat up with a critical three-game series in Arizona. Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen joins Phillies Extra to discuss the wild-card race, the drama involving star second baseman Ketel Marte, and the 2023 NLCS, which left scars in Philadelphia that still haven't healed. Watch here.
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