April 23, 2024
Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK
Ranger Suarez delivers a pitch in the first inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds.
The Phillies have won seven games straight and are off to the best start in April they've had in years.
After sleepwalking to an 8-8 record, they've found their groove both on offense and on the mound and are one of the best teams in baseball once again.
With nine games left on the longest roadtrip of the year so far, here's a look a seven stats that tell the story:
The seven game win streak the Phillies have fired off is the longest current streak in the majors
To put their accomplishment into perspective — the combined record of the teams they've defeated amounts to a .301 win percentage from the Rockies, White Sox and the Reds.
The Phillies have out-scored their opponents by 31 runs over their current win streak — a number that would be even higher if the bullpens hadn't bent (but they didn't break) following some stellar starting pitching performances. They have averaged 6.2 runs per game over this stretch, in contrast to averaging less than four per game prior.
During the last seven games, three players hitting have hit .400 or better, placing them in the top 13 in the majors over that span (Alec Bohm at .435, Trea Turner at .419, and Johan Rojas at .400). And this is before we mention Harper at .381 who has recently left the team on paternity leave. Bohm's .500 on base is third best in the majors.
All five Phils starters have combined to post an ERA of 0.70 over the last seven starts, the best in baseball. From Zack Wheeler through Spencer Turnbull, every arm in the rotation has been light's out.
There have been no pitching staffs with more strikeouts than the Phillies this season — they have 220 of them. Over the last seven games they've struck out 53 hitters to just nine walks, nearly a 6-to-1 ratio. It's a rate that would be the best in the majors by a very big margin.
At 15-8, the Phillies are just one game behind the Braves for first in the NL East. They were 11-12 and 3.5 games back this time last year.
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