When the Philadelphia Phillies started the year with a 1-5 record, some fans were a little puzzled, and even panicked. At the time, that was clearly an overreaction as the club was just six games into their 162-game schedule. But, to be fair, many people had put high expectations on the Phillies at the start of spring training.
Trea Turner — considered to be one of the game’s most exciting players to watch — was the team’s new shortstop. The front office added to the starting rotation by inking Taijuan Walker to a four-year deal. They also went out and added two lefties — Matt Strahm and the hard-throwing Gregory Soto — to the bullpen. All of those moves were on top of the fact that the Phillies had most of their 2022 roster returning in 2023.
For a team coming off a season in which they fell two wins short of a World Series championship, the Phillies front office, along with ownership, was clearly going all-in on the 2023 season.
And while some still feel this team has been a bit underwhelming to this point in the year with a 48-41 record at the All-Star break, they are right where most people expected them to be — right in the middle of the playoff picture.
That being said, here are three numbers to remember from the first 89 games of the Phillies 2023 campaign:
23-11 — Record since June 1
Yes, it’s happening again. The Phillies went on an excellent run to, and during, the playoffs last season. And that run was jump-started by a 19-8 record in June and a 28-14 record from June 1 through the start of the All-Star break.
As mentioned above, the Phillies went 1-5 through their first six games of the season, but they’re 47-36 since and 23-11 since the start of June — a month that started with back-to-back losses.
The club’s success since the start of the season’s third full month is largely because of how well the pitching staff has performed. Philadelphia pitchers have allowed 121 runs since the beginning of June — the lowest total in all of baseball.
The starting rotation has combined for a 3.20 ERA during that stretch — the second-lowest mark among a group of a starters. Meanwhile, the bullpen has been just as good since June 1 with a 3.07 ERA — fourth-best in the big leagues.
And while the offense hasn’t fully clicked yet, they’re a top-ten scoring offense since June 1 with 173 total runs — which works out to just over five runs per game. The lineup’s 43 home runs in that time frame are seventh-most in the majors, while their .437 slugging percentage is sixth.
If the front office adds to the club’s rotation, or even trades for a right-handed hitter to add to the lineup, the Phillies could, once again, become a hard team to beat during the final two-plus months of the season.
0.5 — Number of games out of third wild card spot
Just like their hot month of June, this season is also similar to last when it comes to Philadelphia’s current spot in the wild card standings. Heading into the break in 2022, the Phillies (.533) held the third wild card spot in the NL with a winning percentage that was 0.001 points better than the St. Louis Cardinals (.532).
This year, the club finds itself trailing Gabe Kapler’s San Francisco Giants by just a half-game for the NL’s final playoff spot.
Coming out of the break, Rob Thomson’s squad will play seven games, all of which are at home, against two teams they’ll be in competition with for a wild card spot down the stretch.
They play a four-game weekend series against the San Diego Padres — they’re six games behind the Giants — and a three-game set against the Milwaukee Brewers — a team that is also trailing San Francisco by a half-game. The Phillies will then play both of those teams again, on the road, in early September.
Philadelphia will also play the Giants three more times this year, while they play both the Miami Marlins — who hold the first wild card spot — and the New York Mets — they trail the Phillies by six-and-a-half-games — seven more times between now and the end of the season.
The Phillies and Mets will even face-off at Citi Field to finish the 2023 regular season. We’ll have to wait, though, to see if that series means anything.
In terms of the divisional standings, the Phillies are 12 games back of the Braves. It’s hard to imagine Atlanta — with a Major League-best 60 wins — being caught by another team in their own division. However, anything can happen in the world of baseball.
Overall, Baseball Reference gives the Phillies a 44.6 percent chance to make the postseason, while FanGraphs gives them a 55.1 percent chance.
Two — Number of All-Stars
Along with the entire coaching staff, Nick Castellanos and Craig Kimbrel, two Dave Dombrowski free agent signings, represented the Phillies in this year’s All-Star Game.
Castellanos leads the Phillies with a league-adjusted 128 OPS+ — a stat where 100 signifies a league-average hitter — and has a .301/.344/. 496 slash line overall. The two-time All-Star also leads his club in hits (104) and doubles (26).
His 13 home runs are as many as he hit all of last season, while he is just one of 12 players — along with this teammate Bryson Stott — to have a .300 batting average or better in the majors.
As for Kimbrel, he had an okay start to the season, but has been one of the better relievers in baseball since giving up a walk-off grand slam to the Dodgers back on May 3.
Since May 9, Kimbrel has pitched 25 innings with a 1.08 ERA and 11 saves. His 40 strikeouts during that period are fourth-most among qualified relievers. And while those numbers are impressive, the most recent member of the 400 saves club has been even better since the start of June.
Dating back to June 1, Kimbrel has a 0.53 ERA in 17 innings. He’s allowed just seven hits in that span, while striking out 25 batters.
Overall, the veteran reliever is 14-for-14 in save opportunities in 2023 and even picked up the save in the All-Star Game — the first time the nine-time All-Star has done so in his career.
Meanwhile, Castellanos played center field for the NL and went 1-for-2 at the plate with an important walk and a run.
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