PHILADELPHIA — Nine games ago, the Phillies were nine-and-a-half games out of first place, one game under water in run differential and still trying to prove that four uneven months had not told the truth about them.
Nine wins later, the questions have changed.
Not whether this season can be rescued.
How dangerous might this team become if this is what it actually is?
The Phillies completed their third consecutive sweep Sunday in the most ridiculous fashion of the bunch, scoring six times with two outs in the ninth inning to erase a four-run deficit and stun St. Louis, 6-4, at Citizens Bank Park.
Kyle Schwarber finished it with a 459-foot, two-run homer over the batter’s eye.
“It was shocked disbelief,” Schwarber said afterward. “I didn’t know what to do there.”
There has been plenty of that around the Phillies lately.
The nine-game streak began Aug. 13 in Minnesota with a 7-1 win. Since then, Philadelphia has scored 64 runs and allowed 30. That is more than seven runs per night offensively while surrendering barely three.
Before the streak, the Phillies had been outscored 542-535 for the season.
Now their differential is plus-27.
That is what nine days can do.
They have also turned what looked like an unrealistic division chase into something worth watching. Philadelphia entered Aug. 13 9½ games behind Atlanta. After Sunday, the deficit was down to three games.
But the numbers only explain part of what has changed.
The Phillies aren't winning one way.
Alec Bohm opened the run with one of the hottest stretches of his career. He collected five hits in the 9-1 victory over Minnesota on Aug. 15, the first five-hit game of his seven-year career. Over a recent seven-game stretch during the surge, Bohm hit .464 with 13 hits, seven runs and eight RBIs.
Luis Arraez has been doing what Luis Arraez tends to do, batting .440 over his last seven games with 11 hits in 25 at-bats.
Andrew Painter has supplied perhaps the most encouraging pitching development of all, culminating Saturday with seven innings in a 12-3 win over St. Louis. Cristopher Sánchez has continued to provide stability. Aaron Nola has delivered quality innings. Jesús Luzardo struck out nine while allowing one run over 6⅔ innings in the Aug. 15 rout of Minnesota.
Then there is Schwarber.
His 39th homer Sunday was not simply another addition to his season total. It came after the Phillies spent eight innings doing almost nothing offensively.
They entered the ninth trailing 4-0.
Bryce Harper doubled. Two outs followed.
Then J.T. Realmuto singled with two strikes. Justin Crawford walked. Edmundo Sosa fell behind with two strikes before driving a bases-loaded double that cleared the bases.
Bryan De La Cruz singled home Sosa.
Suddenly it was tied.
Suddenly Schwarber was walking to the plate.
And suddenly a game the Phillies had spent almost three hours losing was over.
“We’re the Phillies; I can’t say I’m really surprised,” Sosa said through an interpreter. “When we’re late in the game, we never stop fighting.”
That may sound like standard clubhouse language after a comeback.
Except the Phillies keep providing evidence for it.
They have won blowouts. They have survived close games. They have gotten starting pitching. They have produced extended rallies. They have won without relying exclusively on home runs, then won Sunday because one of baseball’s most dangerous home-run hitters finally got a chance to end it.
Schwarber described the streak afterward as “a lot of complete baseball,” pointing specifically to the defense, the starting rotation and an offense increasingly capable of executing rather than simply waiting for someone to leave the yard.
That is the part that matters beyond nine consecutive wins.
Hot streaks end. They always do.
But if the Phillies have actually discovered a more sustainable version of themselves — one in which Bohm keeps hitting, the bottom of the lineup contributes, Painter progresses, the rotation controls games and Schwarber and Harper don't have to manufacture everything — this becomes something more significant than an August heater.
The Phillies were 64-58 when this started.
They are 73-58 now.
Nine games.
Sixty-four runs.
Thirty allowed.
Three straight sweeps.
And a division race that looked nearly closed suddenly has a pulse.
For most of this season, the Phillies were trying to convince everyone that there was still enough time.
They don't have to make that argument anymore.
Now they have to prove these nine games weren't merely the best stretch of their season.
They have to prove they were the beginning of something.
Not whether this season can be rescued.
How dangerous might this team become if this is what it actually is?
The Phillies completed their third consecutive sweep Sunday in the most ridiculous fashion of the bunch, scoring six times with two outs in the ninth inning to erase a four-run deficit and stun St. Louis, 6-4, at Citizens Bank Park.
Kyle Schwarber finished it with a 459-foot, two-run homer over the batter’s eye.
“It was shocked disbelief,” Schwarber said afterward. “I didn’t know what to do there.”
There has been plenty of that around the Phillies lately.
The nine-game streak began Aug. 13 in Minnesota with a 7-1 win. Since then, Philadelphia has scored 64 runs and allowed 30. That is more than seven runs per night offensively while surrendering barely three.
Before the streak, the Phillies had been outscored 542-535 for the season.
Now their differential is plus-27.
That is what nine days can do.
They have also turned what looked like an unrealistic division chase into something worth watching. Philadelphia entered Aug. 13 9½ games behind Atlanta. After Sunday, the deficit was down to three games.
But the numbers only explain part of what has changed.
The Phillies aren't winning one way.
Alec Bohm opened the run with one of the hottest stretches of his career. He collected five hits in the 9-1 victory over Minnesota on Aug. 15, the first five-hit game of his seven-year career. Over a recent seven-game stretch during the surge, Bohm hit .464 with 13 hits, seven runs and eight RBIs.
Luis Arraez has been doing what Luis Arraez tends to do, batting .440 over his last seven games with 11 hits in 25 at-bats.
Andrew Painter has supplied perhaps the most encouraging pitching development of all, culminating Saturday with seven innings in a 12-3 win over St. Louis. Cristopher Sánchez has continued to provide stability. Aaron Nola has delivered quality innings. Jesús Luzardo struck out nine while allowing one run over 6⅔ innings in the Aug. 15 rout of Minnesota.
Then there is Schwarber.
His 39th homer Sunday was not simply another addition to his season total. It came after the Phillies spent eight innings doing almost nothing offensively.
They entered the ninth trailing 4-0.
Bryce Harper doubled. Two outs followed.
Then J.T. Realmuto singled with two strikes. Justin Crawford walked. Edmundo Sosa fell behind with two strikes before driving a bases-loaded double that cleared the bases.
Bryan De La Cruz singled home Sosa.
Suddenly it was tied.
Suddenly Schwarber was walking to the plate.
And suddenly a game the Phillies had spent almost three hours losing was over.
“We’re the Phillies; I can’t say I’m really surprised,” Sosa said through an interpreter. “When we’re late in the game, we never stop fighting.”
That may sound like standard clubhouse language after a comeback.
Except the Phillies keep providing evidence for it.
They have won blowouts. They have survived close games. They have gotten starting pitching. They have produced extended rallies. They have won without relying exclusively on home runs, then won Sunday because one of baseball’s most dangerous home-run hitters finally got a chance to end it.
Schwarber described the streak afterward as “a lot of complete baseball,” pointing specifically to the defense, the starting rotation and an offense increasingly capable of executing rather than simply waiting for someone to leave the yard.
That is the part that matters beyond nine consecutive wins.
Hot streaks end. They always do.
But if the Phillies have actually discovered a more sustainable version of themselves — one in which Bohm keeps hitting, the bottom of the lineup contributes, Painter progresses, the rotation controls games and Schwarber and Harper don't have to manufacture everything — this becomes something more significant than an August heater.
The Phillies were 64-58 when this started.
They are 73-58 now.
Nine games.
Sixty-four runs.
Thirty allowed.
Three straight sweeps.
And a division race that looked nearly closed suddenly has a pulse.
For most of this season, the Phillies were trying to convince everyone that there was still enough time.
They don't have to make that argument anymore.
Now they have to prove these nine games weren't merely the best stretch of their season.
They have to prove they were the beginning of something.
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