June 07, 2026
Eric Hartline/Imagn Images
Alec Bohm continues to hit well in the warm weather, he had two hits and two RBI in Sunday's latest win.
The Phillies took another series at home, reaching a new high-water mark for the season at five games over .500.
But the taking of two games from the White Sox in this weekend's three-game set was noteworthy for two other main reasons. First, the way they did it — by bashing the ball. After weeks spent without eclipsing four runs, they did it twice in their two wins while a hit parade marched through Citizens Bank Park. Second, they handled a team with a winning record, a feat that had only achieved this season against the Padres (twice) and Pirates prior to this weekend.
Philadelphia has more AL duels ahead as they trek north to Toronto for a stanza of games against the defending AL pennant winners. Before they do, here's a look at the good, the bad and the ugly from a pretty promising series in South Philly:
• Runs in unexpected places: The Phillies had 11 hits to start the series on Friday, getting RBI hits from secondary hitters like Brandon Marsh, Alec Bohm, Edmundo Sosa and Adolis García — leading to a 8-6 win, a rare high scoring affair for these Phillies. Bohm, Marsh and García also had the RBI on Saturday, but the three runs they'd score in the 6-3 loss showed that the offense remains a finicky unit that can be woefully inconsistent.
In the finale it was a see-saw and once again, it was the role players doing the most damage in the 11-hit, nine run show:
• Rafael Marchán blasted a two-run homer to put the Phillies ahead 3-2
• A Marsh bomb later put them up again 4-3
• Bohm drove in yet another tying run with a fifth inning double
• Stott plated a run with a single, and then with Philly up 6-5 Justin Crawford hit into a double play that scored a seventh run
• Marsh and Bohm singles put the lead on ice 9-5 in the sixth
• The emergence of Adolis García: Including the three-game sweep of the Padres last week, García hit safely in every game of the homestand before an 0-fer Sunday stunted the impressive stretch. His batting average is now north of the Mendoza line. He also had an RBI in four straight games at Citizens Bank Park.
The offensive strides come at the perfect time, as the Phillies are likely to be active at the trade deadline next month in search of a right-handed hitting outfielder. The better García plays the less desperate they'll be come July 31.
• The bullpen is steady: In a reversal of sorts, it was the bullpen that shined this weekend, with the starting pitching lacking a bit. First on Friday with the pen pitching in three solid innings, allowing just one earned run. The win was highlighted by closer Jhoan Duran slamming the door shut with his fifth consecutive perfect save (three up, three down).
Saturday's pen was even more impressive, keeping the Phils in it despite the losing effort as the front end of the Phillies relief corps combined for six strikeouts in 4.1 scoreless innings.
Sunday was a little more adventurous, but José Alvarado danced around some base runners in his sixth inning before Orion Kerkering did the same in the seventh. The rest of the game was uneventful as the pen preserved the four-run lead with Jonathan Bowlan earning a rare two-inning save.
• The 'second tier' starters: It's almost like the Phillies top two starters, Zack Wheeler and Cris Sánchez are playing a different sport than the rest of the starting five on the staff.
| Starters | W-L | WHIP | ERA | WAR |
| Wheeler, Sánchez | 12-3 | 0.993 | 1.97 | 6.6 |
| Luzardo, Painter, Nola | 12-9 | 1.425 | 5.33 | 1.6 |
Three mediocre efforts came this weekend from the trio of Jesús Luzardo, Andrew Painter and Aaron Nola. Luzardo got enough offense to help the Phillies win despite his five earned runs allowed. Painter did not, exiting before the end of the fifth frame having surrendered six runs. Nola was just as touch and go in his start, allowing five runs before the end of the fifth with an ugly four walks (and six hits). It would be helpful if one (or more) of these arms emerged as a reliable third starter for a potential postseason series.
• The outfield is a black hole: Operating under the same analysis we just used for the starting pitching staff, the Phillies outfield is equally top heavy. Beyond the incredible hitting from Marsh, who continues to set the pace for a batting title, there is just no answer to flank him with every day.
Justin Crawford is having rookie struggles and is sitting on the bench against lefties. García has been hitting under .200 this season prior to last week. Experiments with Félix Reyes, Otto Kemp, Steward Berroa and even Edmundo Sosa in the outfield are not surprisingly turning out badly. Look at Marsh compared to the rest of the outfield's offensive output:
| Outfielders | Slash | RBI | WAR |
| Marsh | .340/.370/.524 | 30 | 1.9 |
| The rest | .197/.264/.303 | 35 | -2.2 |
• Four bases the hard way: For Kyle Schwarber, home runs aren't uncommon, he leads the majors with 23 four-base hits. But on Friday, he had four singles in a game for the first time in his entire career. Heading into the series opener against Chicago, Schwarber actually had more homers (23) than singles (19) in the season.
• Your money's worth: The Phillies play the fourth fastest games in the majors, averaging a pleasurable two hours and 41 minutes per tilt. Sunday's finale was a flashback to the days before pitch clocks, clocking in at three hours and 25 minutes. The game featured 10 pitchers and 20 total hits — much to the merriment of the ballpark's meandering beer sellers who had an unusually long time to sell before last call.
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