June 23, 2025
Kyle Ross/Imagn Images
The Phillies have pulled together 17 series wins in 25 series to start the year.
In a season that's already been full of ups and downs, the Phillies and their faithful fans are feeling pretty good again, following a series win against the rival Mets and eight wins in their last 10 games.
The NL East leaders have a day off Monday before packing up for a road trip to play a pair of teams down south (where it can't possibly be hotter than it is in Philadelphia this week).
Here are a quintet of thoughts I had about the team after it's recent promising stretch of play:
There are plenty of reasons to be concerned for the Phillies. The bullpen is atrocious, they have almost no reliable plan for the outfield and Bryce Harper can't stay healthy. But if you step away for a moment and look at the big picture, they're actually in very good shape.
They have a 47-31 record through 78 games, which is the second-best record in the National League (through Monday) and only a half-game behind the Dodgers – a Dodgers team, by the way, that the Phillies took two of three from. They handled the Mets in boisterous fashion twice this past weekend, and took four of six from the Cubs, the two other mainstays atop the NL standings.
The Phillies have held their own against the top contenders in the NL and despite their myriad of issues have the third-best record in all of baseball (1.5 games behind the Tigers in the AL).
A good trade deadline and healthy Harper should have this team in prime position come October.
The Phillies do a lot of things well — obviously, their record suggests so — but one that few are talking about is just how spectacular they've been against right-handed pitching this season.
Philly has the best record of all 30 teams against righty starters by win percentage (37-19, .660). It makes sense, given that the best hitters on the team hit from the left side, like Harper and Kyle Schwarber. But it's the right-on-right numbers that are the most promising.
Six of the eight right-handed hitters who've been in the lineup are hitting .250 or better against righties (not including Buddy Kennedy and his one at bat). As a team, Philadelphia righties hit righties better than any other team, .277 this season.
For what it's worth, the success is across the board. Phillies right-handed hitters are hitting .267 against lefty pitchers, sixth best in MLB. We also should mention that that hitting prowess doesn't carry with it a power stroke. The Phillies as a team have hit just 55 home runs against righties, the eighth fewest.
Not only do the Phillies have some serious depth at starting pitcher — with Andrew Painter's promotion on the horizon and Aaron Nola on the injured list (both potentially could be ready to be in South Philly come July) — they have also been spectacularly good this season.
Here's a look at some numbers from the starting rotation:
| Category | Stat | MLB Rank |
| ERA | 3.45 | 6th |
| Wins | 31 | 1st |
| IP | 440.2 | 1st |
| Strikeouts | 468 | 1st |
| WHIP | 1.212 | 9th |
| OPS | .678 | 7th |
A few observations and thoughts about the fan experience right now in South Philly:
• The place is packed, and the fans are engaged. It feels like a low key playoff atmosphere at the ballpark right now. The boos for Juan Soto every time he was at the plate this weekend were deafening.
• The numbers back that up — 1.66 million fans have been to a game in person so far in 2025, second most in the majors behind the Dodgers, who play in a much bigger ballpark. On average, 41,571 people are at every game. That's just about the population of Altoona, PA.
• They are a very hot ticket, and it's going to be hard get in the ballpark for less than $50 for a nosebleed (via StubHub).
• The contending Phillies have actually boosted their per-game attendance by 1,290 fans per game this season.
• The Phillies take their time. An average Phillies game takes two hours and 43 minutes to play, seventh longest of any team.
The Phillies are traveling to Houston to face the AL West leading Astros this week — the team they lost to in the 2022 World Series. After that, they will hit Atlanta over the weekend to play the Braves, who are mired in third place in the NL East after a putrid start. Neither series on the road will be a cake walk.
Returning home for the holiday, the Padres (currently a game out of the NL Wild Card) will be in town before a four-game series against the Reds (three games out of a Wild Card spot) over July 4th weekend. So that's three contenders, plus the Braves in the next four series.
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