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Depth players make huge difference as team surges despite injuries

Weston Wilson had the game-winning RBI Wednesday. (Grace Del Pizzo/Phillies Nation)

The Pigs are contributing in the bigs.

Whether it was Buddy Kennedy walking and Kody Clemens delivering a walk-off on Monday, Cal Stevenson hitting a go-ahead double on Tuesday or Weston Wilson poking a game-winning infield hit and Aramis Garcia gunning down a ninth-inning runner from behind the plate on Wednesday, the depth pieces and Triple-A call-ups had their fingerprints all over the Phillies’ sweep of the Tampa Bay Rays this week.

This group of players has spent most of its time down on the farm with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs in 2024 and has made a tangible impact on a team poised to grab the National League East division crown. It’s a positive sign for the organization and the players themselves.

“Everybody’s contributing,” Nick Castellanos said. “And I think that’s a sign of just a great team. It’s not just one person doing it. Everybody’s doing something when their number’s called.”

The Phillies (88-58) have been in need of assistance with Alec Bohm, Austin Hays and Edmundo Sosa hitting the injured list and Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto missing time with day-to-day injuries. The edges of the roster have been a bit of a carousel as the Phillies continue to plug different holes. But the players that have been summoned to fill in have provided little moments and little boosts. They’ve helped the club win as Philadelphia has lowered its magic number to clinch the division to nine games.

Some of these guys might get a shot as the season continues and in the playoffs, such as Clemens or Wilson. Others will only have their short cameo. Either way, all of these players will be able to say they made a difference for a winning team at the major-league level. That’s an accomplishment and something they’ve worked toward.

“I think it’s a testament to how we take care of business down there, when we’re down there,” Wilson said. “And just them putting trust in guys to come up in big situations has helped guys flourish in those opportunities. So, I think it’s really cool to see guys step up and have some opportunities and then come up big.”

The Phillies, of course, hope to get healthy soon, and it looks like they could be on their way there. Schwarber and Realmuto should be back in the lineup against the Mets on Friday following the scheduled day off on Thursday. And as the lineup starts to return to form, those regulars will get back to action with the team still in a good spot; their replacements did what they needed to do.

“They just go up here and they tend to perform,” manager Rob Thomson said. “And you need that, because it takes a village to get this thing done. We’ve been fortunate to be able to do that the last couple years.”

Destiny Lugardo contributed to this report.

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