After sweep of Dodgers, the Phillies have quieted the doubters

The Phillies dominated the second best team in the National League, sweeping a three-game set against the Dodgers and seizing the title of World Series favorites.

After mashing L.A. 10-1 to open the series, the bullpen flexed in a tight 4-3 win in the second game. The Phils took the finale Thursday night, 5-1, thanks to an Aaron Nola gem and contemporaneous parade of hits (and walks) as they improved to 61-32, five games clear of the next best team in the league.

With three games remaining before the All-Star break, the Phillies are sure to dominate the narrative in Texas next week, boasting an MLB-best seven All-Stars and one of the Home Run Derby contestants (Alec Bohm). And that narrative will surely be that this Phillies' squad is the real deal.

Throughout the first three-plus months of the season many questioned whether this team was a true top tier contender. They've answered all of those questions, with even more firepower potentially arriving before the July 30 trade deadline.

Did they overpay Trea Turner?

Trea Turner had a rough go of it when he became a Phillie last season, signing a 11-year, $300 million pact to join the squad as a free agent. He had a half-season long slump and made more than his fair share of errors at shortstop as he posted worst career numbers.

This year, he got to a hot start but was the first major Phillies' player to land on the IL during the season. He's been on an absolute tear since his return. In the month of July, Turner has six homers in nine games, hitting well over .400. He had two of them against the Dodgers in Game 1.

Here's what he did to the Dodgers' "opener" Anthony Banda Thursday:

Many Phillies fans were uneasy about the pretty paycheck paid to Turner, but he's starting to mash the ball and really fit in as a star in the city. He'll start the All-Star game next week and has become must-watch TV during every at bat.

Can they beat good teams?

The Phillies had an unbelievably easy schedule to start the season and they went more than two months without facing much competition. They beat up on teams well below them in the standings, and every baseball pundit was waiting for the Phillies to fall back to earth. 

Well, it's almost the All-Star break and the Phillies have the biggest divisional lead in the sport. They have baseball's best record and win percentage against teams above .500 at 24-13, as well as the best winning percentage against teams below .500 at 38-19. More tests remain after the break with the Yankees, Guardians, Twins and Dodgers again coming up over the next few weeks. But they've shown they can hang tough and win against the best.

Can they really keep it up?

Another common criticism this spring was that the Phillies, as part of their soft schedule, would eventually fall to earth and the Braves would close the gap, relegating the Phils to yet another Wildcard berth. Even after faltering in two of three games in a series against Atlanta last week they still are nine games ahead in the standings (with the Braves set to play out west late Thursday). 

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The 2024 squad was the second fastest to 60 wins in team history and joins a rare group of teams with that many wins at the All-Star break. They have an MLB best 66 games with four or more runs scored and have the best win percentage in those games. They also have the best pitching staff by ERA and a bevy of other metrics. Players are getting better as the weather gets warmer and the Phillies are proving naysayers wrong every night in South Philly.

Via baseball-reference's algorithm, the Phillies have the best chances of any team (16.7%) of winning both the World Series and the NL pennant (29.4%)

Will they be able to overcome adversity?

Aside from minor early ailments for Taijuan Walker and Brandon Marsh, the Phillies returned their entire postseason roster healthy for the start of the season. The good health continued for a while, but then the injury bug hit hard. A look at games missed to injury by Phillies regulars:

This in addition to their issues with their fifth starter — Walker and Spencer Turnbull are both currently on the Injured List. And Zack Wheeler, their ace and perhaps the best pitcher in baseball, will miss at least one start as the team is cautious with his recent back soreness.

It would be hard to make a list of more important players to the Phils' success. And yet they've gotten big time contributions from their depth pieces, from Edmundo Sosa to Rafael Marchán to Kody Clemens. Healthy or not, the Phillies have been winners.

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