July 17, 2022
Break out the brooms! The Phillies swept the Marlins in Miami over the weekend, improving their record to 49-43. The Phils are now tied for third in the third Wild Card spot as the first half of the 2022 season comes to a close. This sweep felt so unlikely and it's a perfect way to keep positive vibes going ahead of the Midsummer Classic.
Some notes on the Phils as they fight for a playoff berth...
The Phillies, carrying a four-game losing streak, headed into Miami for their final series before the All-Star break. Trips to South Beach have been where Phils fans' hopes go to die during this era of Phillies baseball. Limbing along like this, historically, would've been a spot where the Phils get swept and all the energy is sucked out of the season.
Not so fast!
A 2-1 squeaker on Friday, a 10-0 rout on Saturday and a 4-0 W on Sunday are giving Philly a chance to truly believe in this team. When Kyle Schwarber is raking in the Home Run Derby on Monday, Phils fans will be dreaming of a red October.
NBC Sports Philadelphia's broadcast announced that this was the team's first sweep against the Marlins on the road since September 2010.
Marlins righty Sandy Alcantara has the best ERA in the National League at 1.76. There have been just five seasons this century where a starting pitcher has had an ERA of 1.76 or lower over the course of a whole season (via Stathead). Alcantara has been that good this year.
The Phillies, in defiance of everything we know about them, managed to put up two runs against him on Friday, providing just enough of an edge to pick up the 2-1 win. At any point in the last 10 years, that game was a guaranteed L.
"What do we say to the god of death? Not today."
I've been critical of Aaron Nola over the last couple of years. After finishing third in National League Cy Young voting in his age-25 season in 2018, he had an uneven three-year stretch. From 2019-2021, Nola had a 4.08 ERA in 67 starts. It was rational for Phillies fans to think he'd be vying for Cy Young candidacy annually for the next half-decade at that point. That career path didn't come to total fruition, but he's been fantastic in 2022.
Nola, sporting the best strikeout to walk ratio in the majors, had one of his best outing of the seasons on Sunday. In 8.1 innings of work, Nola surrendered zero runs, struck out 10 batters and allowed just four hits. His command was elite. What a way to enter the break.
The Phils homered five times this series and four times in Saturday's blowout win alone. Their 120 home runs are, as of this writing, the fifth most in the majors. The Phillies haven't finished top five in homers since 2009 when their 224 dingers were tied for the second most in baseball. This team was an Avengers-type team-up made to mash. I guess Schwarbs is the Hulk, right?
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