DENVER — Despite some ups and downs over the first couple of months, the Phillies (32-18) hit the half-century mark of the season with the best record in the National League.
The Phils extended their winning streak to seven games — and completed their second straight sweep — with Thursday afternoon’s 2-0 win over the Rockies at Coors Field. The Phillies are one game clear of the Dodgers for the best record in the NL and two games ahead of the Mets in the NL East.
With 50 games in the books, here’s where things stand in the three key areas: rotation, bullpen and offense.
The Phillies’ starting staff has undoubtedly — and unsurprisingly — been the club’s biggest strength through the first 50 games. Even with Aaron Nola’s struggles and recent placement on the IL with a sprained right ankle, Philadelphia’s starting rotation is the deepest it’s been at any point over the past few seasons.
Zack Wheeler (5-1, 2.67 ERA, 0.89 WHIP) is once again in the midst of the NL Cy Young conversation. Jesús Luzardo (5-0, 1.95 ERA) is off to a historically good start with his new club. Cristopher Sánchez (4-1, 3.10 ERA) is pitching lights out after his early injury scare. Ranger Suárez — who tossed 6 2/3 scoreless innings in Thursday’s victory — is starting to look like his usual self after missing the first five weeks with a back injury.
At that point, it could present a bit of a problem — albeit a good one to have.
The Phils have been adamant that Painter will not pitch out of the bullpen once he’s ready. They’ve said the same about Suárez … for now. But if everyone is healthy and the Phillies aren’t going to pivot to a six-man rotation, someone would need to be bumped to make room for Painter.
The Phillies’ relief corps had its struggles to begin the year, and just when it appeared the ‘pen might be hitting its stride, José Alvarado was handed an 80-game suspension. The club hasn’t had many high-leverage spots since, so it remains to be seen how the Phils will handle Alvarado’s absence.
One thing that appears certain: Once Nola is healthy, Walker will return to the bullpen and likely remain there, regardless of potential future injuries.
“Whenever Nola is back, even if we need a spot start, we’ll get somebody else,” manager Rob Thomson said. “Just leave [Walker] right where he’s at to keep him healthy. I’m kind of excited to see him come out of the bullpen when we put him back there, just to see if his stuff plays up.”
Walker will initially take on a middle-innings role, but he could progress to leverage situations if he continues to find success. Albeit a remarkably small sample, in his two relief appearances (six innings) this season, he has a 37.5% strikeout rate, 4.2% walk rate and .182 opponents’ batting average.
In the short term, the Phillies will lean more on right-hander Orion Kerkering and left-hander Tanner Banks to bridge the gap to lefty Matt Strahm and righty Jordan Romano. Long term, Philadelphia’s surplus of rotation arms could be used either to acquire another reliever or to see someone like Suárez bumped to the ‘pen come October.
“Obviously, it’s going to depend on the context,” said Suárez, who is in the final year of his contract. “That’s a tough one. I obviously want to be in the rotation all the time. I want to be a starting pitcher all the time. But if it’s for the team’s sake, if it’s to win something, if it’s to get to the World Series, then I’m willing to do anything.”
There was a lot made about the offense’s slow start in April. Alec Bohm took a while to get going. Bryce Harper wasn’t quite playing up to his usual standard. Trea Turner wasn’t hitting for much power. And so on.
Fast forward a month, and Bohm is hitting .327 over his past 30 games. Harper is on a seven-game hitting streak, during which he’s batting .500 (14-for-28). Even the lower-third is getting it done, with the Phillies’ Nos. 7-9 hitters entering play Wednesday hitting .264 (second in MLB) with a .723 OPS (fourth in MLB).
Through their first 25 games, the Phillies hit just 21 home runs and averaged 4.4 runs per game on their way to a 13-12 start. In the 25 since, they’ve hit 32 homers and are averaging 5.3 runs per game while going 19-6.
In the month of May, Philadelphia ranks second across the Majors in average (.280), third in on-base percentage (.340) and fifth in OPS (.789).
“We’re rallying in the right ways with our pitching, with our hitting and offense, too,” Suárez said. “If we keep doing things this way, we’re going to be in a good spot.”
