August 20, 2026
Bill Streicher/Imagn Images via Reuters Connect
Alec Bohm has found his bat since moving to first base.
Every time it feels like the Phillies are a waste of our time and collective hopes, they pull it together.
With sweeps of the Twins and Marlins over their last six games, the vibes are back in playoff-contending shape in South Philly. They're hitting. They're pitching. And they're winning.
Will the good times continue?
With 34 games and just over a month left in the regular season, we've got some thoughts:
The Phillies and Braves are really streaky teams. And it's made for a really dramatic NL East race. The Phillies seemed dead to rites at various points in their hunt for a third straight division title. But their active six-game (and counting) win streak has them breathing again. A visual aid:
| Date | NL East GB |
| April 6 | 0 |
| April 24 | 10.5 |
| July 7 | 2.0 |
| August 13 | 9.5 |
| August 20 | 4.5 |
Four and a half games is still a pretty sizable lead — but relatively to where they were, it makes the division a little less than a pipe dream. They have seven games ahead to play against the Braves and if they can keep the race inside this current margin, they'll have a fighting chance.
On August 4th, the Phillies shook things up. They moved Bryson Stott from second base to third base to make room for Luis Arráez — which prompted Alec Bohm to move from third to first, and Bryce Harper to move from first to right field. Since that move, the Phillies are 10-5. And, since moving across the infield to first, Bohm is mashing the ball.
There really isn't a logical reasoning for it, but look at these splits for Bohm:
| as 3B | as 1B | |
| Games | 103 | 18 |
| Slash | .224/.281/.351 | .349/.413/.576 |
| HR pace | 17 | 27 |
| RBI pace | 91 | 117 |
It's a very small sample size. The Phillies are happy to stick with it and see if it's legit. Bohm will be a free agent at the end of the year and he's finally playing like a guy who needs a contract.
Aaron Nola has turned things around as well. The Phillies, at the All-Star break, really looked thin at starting pitcher, with three reliable guys, plus Nola — who had an ERA north of six — and no fifth starter. They didn't address the issue at the trade deadline and somehow, it's worked out. Andrew Painter is hanging on at the fifth starter spot, and Nola is starting to thrive as the No. 4.
On June 29, the 33-year-old had a 6.04 ERA after surrendering seven runs to the Pirates. In his nine starts since, he has a 3.63 ERA. That's a solid enough number for him to earn a little confidence and trust when he's on the mound every five days. Over the nine-game stretch we're looking at, Nola has really only had one bad start where he allowed more than three runs. Perhaps he's found his groove?
No team has more walks, or has been on base more in the month of August than the Phillies. In 18 games this month, they've walked 90 times — or five times per game. That's nine more total free passes than the next best team. They've also got a .368 on base percentage — the Red Sox are 11 points behind them in second.
The team reportedly had a meeting a few weeks ago to discuss just this. They had a .303 on base percentage as recently as late July, the worst mark in the majors.
“The biggest thing we were able to accomplish in that meeting was highlighting a lot of things that we do well,” Kyle Schwarber said (via the Inquirer). “Those are things that can get your brain going in a different way, and then it’s like, ‘OK, we’re last in on-base. How do we kind of maneuver this?’ I felt like it was just a really good conversation that we had. There was input from everyone in the room, so I felt like that was a really good way to go about it.”
The ceiling of this baseball team can be reached when it pitches well, obviously, and when players get on base. They hit the ball hard — they just need runners to drive in. They're getting them in August.
The Phillies are back, comfortably in a Wild card spot as their six-game win streak has them two wins clear of the Padres for the second of three teams in the WC picture and three clear of the chasing Padres. At the beginning of the week, Miami was threatening, just two games behind the Phillies as well — but a three-game sweep has them in the rearview, five games behind now. The Cardinals are coming to town Friday in a similar spot, clinging to a three-game deficit for the final Wild card berth.
The Phils can continue to narrow the field of serious contenders if they handle St. Louis this weekend. They'll have an opportunity to do the same with the Diamondbacks in a week and a half.
SIGN UP HERE to receive the PhillyVoice Sports newsletter
Follow Evan on Twitter:@evan_macy
Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice Sports
