Coming off an extremely frustrating three-game series in Atlanta in which the Phillies were lucky to escape with one victory, the Phillies had to head to Kansas City for a three-game set against a Kansas City Royals team led by superstar shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. and surging in the American League standings.
The first game of this series was about as disastrous as it possibly could have been for the Phillies, and it felt as if things could not get any worse. On Saturday and Sunday, the team was able to combine strong pitching with relentless offense to dominate en route to a much-needed series victory.
Here is what stood out from what the Phillies hope will be the series that alters the trajectory of their season:
Taijuan Walker rocked in series opener. Is his rotation spot safe?
Walker, who has struggled all year on the mound, took the ball to begin this three-game series on Friday night -- and the results were disastrous. The right-hander had his worst start of the season, a three-inning debacle in which he allowed six earned runs and eight hits while only striking out two. He allowed a ton of hard contact, including two no-doubt homers in a five-run third inning, in a 7-4 loss.
Following the game and in every opportunity to discuss since, Phillies manager Rob Thomson has been noncommittal about Walker making his next scheduled start -- likely Thursday's opener of a pivotal four-game home set against the Atlanta Braves -- and rightfully so.
The Phillies have not won a game Walker has started since May 22, and is not a remote exaggeration to say there have been zero redeeming qualities within his performance this season. He is not striking hitters out, he has not exhibited good command of any of his pitches, he has been unable to limit hard contact at any point, his fastball's velocity is considerably below-average and his splitter -- once his signature pitch -- has been either missing in action or entirely ineffective depending on the day.
In 2023, Walker's splitter was his saving grace. His velocity was extremely underwhelming and his stuff was unimpressive on the whole, but he relied on the split -- throwing it nearly once out of every three pitches -- and it held opposing hitters to a .205 batting average and .295 slugging percentage.
Walker started 2024 on the Injured List, making his season debut after about a month. After 10 subpar starts, he was placed on the Injured List again with right index finger inflammation. The team said the injury was preventing him from using that splitter as much as he needs to, and that he would not return until he had a good feel for the pitch.
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In three starts since being activated, Walker has not gotten through five innings once. He has allowed 12 earned runs in 11.2 innings pitched during that span, allowing a .320/.404/.660 slash line. He is throwing his splitter more, but it is simply not effective right now. On the season, opposing hitters are batting .360 with a .600 slugging percentage against the pitch.
While Walker is in just the second season of a four-year, $72 million contract that certainly gives him some additional margin for error, his starts have become too consistently poor for a team with serious World Series aspirations to have him on the mound every fifth day.
Walker has too many years of service to be optioned to the minor leagues, so if he is removed from the starting rotation, he would likely be moved to the bullpen in a long reliever role. A decision appears to be nearing.
Ranger Suárez dazzles in return Saturday
The questions surrounding Walker and fifth spot in the Phillies' starting rotation has only heightened the importance of their four trusted starters being consistently effective. So, Saturday's return of Ranger Suárez -- who had been on the Injured List for more than a month -- was a godsend.
Suárez's return to the mound was particularly encouraging because he looked like the pitcher who was one of the frontrunners in the National League Cy Young Award race for the first three months or so of the season, not the one who posted a 7.71 ERA in his last four starts before being put on the shelf.
In five innings of work on Saturday evening, Suárez looked incredibly sharp. He allowed just four hits, one walk and one earned run while striking out six. He did what he does when he is at his best: commanded his pitches, kept hitters off-balance and induced plenty of weakly-hit balls.
There are plenty of serious concerns with this Phillies team right now. The club has not been able to string together quality baseball for more than a game or two at a time since before the All-Star break. But when October arrives, Thomson can rely on a rotation made up of Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Cristopher Sánchez and a fully healthy Suárez, it will not be easy for any team to score runs against the Phillies.
J.T. Realmuto, Phillies offense finally explode en route to victory
Suárez's strong return was not the only bright spot for the Phillies in the second game of this series. Their lineup -- finally -- broke through, in what amounted to an 11-2 win.
The star of the show: J.T. Realmuto, who clubbed two three-run homers and tacked on a run-scoring groundout to collect a career-high seven RBIs on a night that punctuated a resurgence which massively improves the outlook for this offense moving forward.
In his first dozen games after returning from a six-week absence due to a knee injury, Realmuto did not record a single extra-base hit. He had eight hits and eight strikeouts in 52 plate appearances, looking like a total shell of himself. Realmuto, once revered for his reputation as an iron man with otherworldly athleticism for a catcher, looked like every bit of a 33-year-old backstop with plenty of mileage.
In 13 games since, however, Realmuto has eight extra-base hits and only seven strikeouts in 50 plate appearances. During that time, Realmuto has slashed .348/.400/.652.
After starting for five straight days, Realmuto earned a day off in Sunday's series finale -- backup catcher Garrett Stubbs had one of his better offensive performances of the season in Realmuto's place, more on that in a moment -- but if the veteran starter can continue to produce at the plate, it will give a massive lift to a Phillies offense that is absolutely desperate for production in the middle of its order.
Another important performance Saturday night was that of the struggling Bryson Stott, who went 4-4 with a double. The second baseman raised his season-long OPS from .657 to .672 in just one night, and, like Realmuto, any signs of consistency from Stott would give the Phillies some hope of adding significant depth to their lineup.
It felt as if it had been ages since the Phillies were able to pitch well and string together several quality at-bats in the same game. On Saturday, they excelled in just about every phase of the game.
Phillies nab elusive series victory Sunday afternoon, Kolby Allard
In Sunday afternoon's series finale, the Phillies decided to recall Allard to give the team at least one outing -- enabling them to give each of Wheeler, Nola, Sánchez and Suárez an extra day off before their next starts.
Unfortunately, in order to make room for Allard, the Phillies had to option rookie right-handed reliever Max Lazar back to Triple-A. Lazar made six appearances for the Phillies after being called up for his first stint on a major-league roster and could not have done a much better job. In 5.2 innings pitched, Lazar did not give up any earned runs. He allowed two singles, did not walk a batter and struck out five. Lazar cannot be recalled to the majors until Sept. 8 -- 15 days after he was optioned -- unless an injury takes place and he replaces that player. Lazar should absolutely be back in the bullpen mix as soon as possible -- for a unit lacking depth, any newcomer turning into a trusted reliever would be a welcomed development.
In his fourth outing in a Phillies uniform, Allard did what he has done each and every time -- and all he needs to do -- he pitched serviceably. In five innings of work, Allard allowed two earned runs on a pair of solo homers. The left-hander struck out five, walked none and used precision -- not overpowering stuff -- to attack hitters. Allard is not someone who will pitch deep into games very often, but the Phillies do not need him to be that type of pitcher.
With 18.0 major-league innings now under his belt in 2024, Allard has a 3.50 ERA with only two walks. His lack of plus stuff makes him liable to running into barrels, but as Walker's standing in the team's starting rotation appears to be in jeopardy, Allard seems to be the front-runner to take over the fifth spot (the other player likely receiving consideration is rookie Tyler Phillips, but Phillips cannot be recalled until Sept. 1 unless an injury takes place because he was optioned to Lehigh Valley last Saturday).
While Allard did his job on Sunday, so did the Phillies' lineup, posting 11 hits against Royals All-Star starting pitcher Seth Lugo. It was particularly impressive because Lugo is the exact sort of pitcher who has flummoxed the Phillies for months -- even years -- a finesse pitcher who uses deception to induce bad swings.
In a spot start, Stubbs hit a triple and then scored the first run of the game on a double by Schwarber before adding a bunt single, a two-run double and another base hit to his collection. Stubbs had never recorded a three-hit game in his major league career before this game, and suddenly had four knocks to his name.
It was also a big day for Schwarber, who drove in three runs, scored two and could have been credited with a fourth RBI on a single that Stubbs scored on after the ball was fumbled in the outfield. Schwarber entered a mini-slump after his incredible heater earlier in the month, but seems to have broken out of that after doubling twice on Saturday before an even more impressive day in the series finale.
Alec Bohm, trying to break out of a slump of his own, collected three RBIs on two singles, and Nick Castellanos added insult to injury with a two-run homer in the top of the eighth inning to give the Phillies an 11-3 lead they would not relinquish.
Entering this series, the Phillies had scored double-digit runs in just one game since the All-Star break. They put up 11 runs on Saturday and Sunday each.
Suddenly, the Phillies have a whole lot to feel optimistic about on their flight back to Philadelphia
Up next: The road will only get tougher for the Phillies, who are returning home for a three-game set against the first-place Houston Astros before the Braves come to town for four crucial matchups.
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