May 12, 2024
Jim Rassol/USA TODAY Sports
Zack Wheeler didn't have his best stuff on Sunday, but the Phillies still took two of three from the Marlins down in Miami.
Zack Wheeler didn't have his best stuff, and despite a rally to push a tie game into extras, the Phillies couldn't find a way to close out a three-game sweep of the Marlins, losing Sunday's Mother's Day contest, 7-6, after 10 innings down in Miami.
The Phils still took two of three in convincing fashion on Friday and Saturday, though, and still sit atop the NL East at 28-12 with wins in eight of their last 10 since the calendar flipped to May.
Sunday was a setback, sure, but right now just a single game in what has been an otherwise excellent stretch.
The Mets are up next for a quick two-game set in Queens beginning Monday before returning back to Citizens Bank Park as part of the back half of a home-and-home series.
But before then, here are a quick six thoughts from this weekend's series against the Marlins...
• Rough day for Wheeler, who got tagged for six earned runs (all earned) and only lasted four innings to close out the three-game set.
A three-run homer surrendered to Josh Bell in the third and a difficult fourth capped by an RBI sacrifice bunt from Christian Bethancourt and then a triple from Jazz Chisholm to drive in another run led Rob Thomson to reach into the bullpen for Orion Kerkering coming back out for the fifth.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. with an RBI triple. 6-3 Miami pic.twitter.com/GSguU8yoms
— Isaac Azout (@IsaacAzout) May 12, 2024
Kerkering held the Marlins scoreless for an inning with the Phils down 6-3 before they climbed back in it with a three-run frame to tie it up – highlighted by Edmundo Sosa's two-run triple – and have the ball handed off to Spencer Turnbull, who also turned a quick three outs that kept things knotted until Miami walked it off in the 10th.
Anybody out there love Sosa? pic.twitter.com/e1TjUAWNtW
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) May 12, 2024
Since an 0-3 start that arguably reached its lowest point with an April 14 loss to the Pirates, Wheeler turned things around quickly and had been outright dominant at the top of the Phillies' rotation, entering Sunday's game on a run of four straight wins with a staggeringly low 0.36 ERA during that stretch.
He was mowing down opposing lineups, but just didn't seem to have it down in Miami, only managing two strikeouts and walking three when his punch-out per nine clip was in the double-digits at an 11.5 rate going in.
It's only one game, so chalk it up to a blip on the radar for now, because otherwise, the Phillies' starting pitching has been brilliant.
• How brilliant? Well, Ranger Suárez has been phenomenal, to the point where he's putting himself among some elite company, and even Taijuan Walker is doing well after jumping back in late in April – he went six innings in Saturday's 8-3 win and held the Marlins to just a single run with four strikeouts.
The Phillies' surge out to the best record in baseball went hand-in-hand with their starting pitching stringing together quality outing after quality outing, to the point where the Phils' pitching stood as one of the best in the NL entering Sunday.
Their team ERA (3.30) was second in the league behind the Dodgers (3.14), their 384 total strikeouts ranked first, WHIP (1.16) was also second to LA (1.09), and their opponent batting average (.225) ranked third behind LA (.211) and the Mets (.223).
The bats, of course, are the focal point of the Phillies' makeup, but good starting pitching like they've been getting of late, that can carry them a long, long way if it can keep up.
• How in the world did Bryson Stott hit this on Saturday?
Go ahead and break it open, Bryson 👌 pic.twitter.com/7709tWComb
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) May 11, 2024
"I think I’ve always kind of liked the ball inside," Stott said afterward (via MLB.com's Todd Zolecki). "I know my chase numbers are worse on the inside part of the plate. I like swinging at inside pitches, and I think that’s what the reports say, so I see a lot of them. But being able to keep that ball fair was nice, especially in that situation.”
He knocked in another run later on in the eighth with a one-out single into right to make it 5-1, Phils, and finished Saturday 2-for-5 at the plate.
Entering Sunday's series finale, Stott has been batting .375 with a 1.008 OPS since May began, and .281 with an .861 OPS, three doubles, two triples, and two home runs since the Phillies' tear started with that Colorado series back in mid-April.
Stott was one of the everyday players who stumbled out of the gate for the Phils, which has left his overall numbers for the season so far pretty middling, but he's been getting into the rhythm, which is putting the rest on an upswing.
He went 2-for-2 with a run scored and three walks in Sunday's extra-innings defeat.
• Speaking of rhythm, Nick Castellanos:
CRUSHED by Casty!!#RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/V22igP9Cjj
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) May 12, 2024
A three-run shot to begin Sunday for his second homer in three games and to stretch his current hit streak into eight games.
Castellanos struggled mightily at the plate to begin the year and his free-swinging approach hardly shielded him from scrutiny during that rut.
But like Stott, Castellanos also seems to have figured something out since the calendar flipped to May to start turning the tides.
The line wasn't super impressive entering Sunday – .265/.342/.441 with a homer, three doubles, and 13 strikeouts in nine games – but definitely signals somewhat of a corner turned compared to late March and all of April – .193/.258/.263 with two homers, a triple, and 28 strikeouts.
Hopefully, it keeps up.
Castellanos finished Sunday just 1-for-5, however, as the Phillies couldn't manage to close the Marlins out.
• If you need another show of how immaculate the vibes are around this club, especially in the outfield, here's Johan Rojas during his postgame interview from Friday night's 8-2 win after he went 3-for-5 with a solo homer and two runs driven in:
No translation needed to tell how much these guys love playing together 🥹 pic.twitter.com/Pq34KZeRlF
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) May 11, 2024
Easy night for interpreter Diego D'Aniello, and good times that just keep rolling for Rojas, Brandon Marsh, and a team that isn't stopping for anyone or anything right now.
And speaking of Marsh:
Brandon Marsh found this tshirt waiting for him in his locker today.
— Alex Coffey (@byalexcoffey) May 10, 2024
His late father, Jake, was a huge fan of Guns N’ Roses. No one who designed the t-shirt knew that.
Marsh sees it as another sign that is father is always with him.
“It was meant to be” https://t.co/XwS9w80cUD pic.twitter.com/BYbHzoIDdy
Again, just immaculate vibes.
• J.T. Realmuto and Kyle Schwarber weren't in Sunday's lineup.
Realmuto has a sore knee and Schwarber a sore back, per MLB.com's Todd Zolecki.
Garrett Stubbs filled in at catcher and Bryce Harper served as Sunday's DH.
Neither Realmuto, Schwarber, nor Thomson seemed concerned about missing any significant time, but it'll probably be something to monitor keeping in mind that Trea Turner is still out for a bit, too, with a strained hamstring.
To the Phillies' advantage this time around though is that their bench runs a bit deeper. Sosa remains as the go-to utilityman through the infield, Whit Merrifield is there now to fill in at second and in the outfield, Stott can flip between second and short, and Alec Bohm can hop to first with Kody Clemens pitching in too.
Is it ideal? No. Situations like these never are, but the 2024 Phillies are probably just a bit better equipped to handle injuries compared to the past couple of years.
Still, they want to be as healthy as possible regardless.
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