May 07, 2026
Eric Hartline/Imagn Images
Brandon Marsh is actually in the mix for a batting title right now.
The Phillies used two dominating wins against the Athletics this week to build their third four-game win streak of the season — but a stinker on getaway day stopped them short of reaching five.
Even great baseball teams have off nights, and Thursday's 12-1 shellacking doesn't take away from the monumental progress this team has made since changing managers two weeks ago. The squad won the first two games of their three-game set by a combined 15-4 before falling back to earth, and that's certainly got to give confidence to worried front office employees and fans alike.
Here are five player-related takeaways from the series, with a trip up to Boston to face the struggling Red Sox awaiting this weekend:
The starter in Game 1 of the series for the Athletics was Luis Severino, a righty. Marsh had three hits in the game and scored a run. The starter in Game 2 was Jeffrey Springs, a lefty. Marsh had three hits (including a triple and an RBI) and scored a run. The famously bearded left fielder added a hit in Game 3 as well. He's not a platoon hitter. He's a straight-up good hitter. Marsh is currently hitting .333, which is not only the best mark on the team, it's the second best in the entire NL (behind Arizona's Ildemaro Vargas).
When a player is hot, he's hot. Marsh has a huge career split in batting average (and other offensive metrics) between his ability to hit left-handed pitchers and right-handed pitchers. However, there is also a huge gap in sample size. Even this season, Marsh has had just 27 plate appearances against lefties — in contrast to 104 against righties. He's hitting .280 against southpaws and near .350 against righties. Don Mattingly would be crazy not to give Marsh a spot in the lineup every day.
In the series opener, Sánchez pitched one of the best games of his career, striking out 10 Athletics in eight shut out innings. He allowed four base runners and threw less than 100 total pitches. He leads the NL in WAR (2.0) right now and his 2.42 ERA is back in the league's top 10 lowest. Strikeouts per nine? He's fourth. Innings pitched? Third. Total strikeouts? As of Thursday morning he was in first with 60 of them.
These are Cy Young numbers, from last year's runner up. He was solid to start the year but showed signs of being human in his early outings. In his Tuesday start at Citizens Bank Park he was superhuman.
Another regular Cy Young finalist is also giving the Phillies reasons for confidence and calm. Wheeler, in his third start back after his unusual offseason — which included Thoracic Outlet Syndrome surgery — looked pretty good, bending to allow three runs in five innings, his third quality start since returning.
And though the Phillies trailed when he left Wednesday night's game, the offense got him off the hook as a four-run eighth inning helped complete an impressive comeback to give Philly that fourth straight win. The rally showed the Phillies can play small ball, with a walk and four singles leading to the four-spot in the line score.
On the day that Wheeler returned, 12 games ago in Atlanta, the Phillies ended their 10-game losing streak thanks basically entirely to Harper, who had four RBI in the extra-inning win. Since that victory, the Phils are 9-3, and Harper entered Thursday hitting .325. He's single-handedly won three of those games.
About a week after that eventful win against the Braves, Harper hit a solo homer in Miami against the Marlins. Aaron Nola and the bullpen did the rest, preserving a 1-0 win. And in Tuesday's 9-1 win against the Athletics, Harper exploded for two home runs, three hits and three RBI, providing all the offense Sánchez needed in his most dominant outing of the year.
During his 2019 MVP season, his 2022 NLCS MVP performance and at several other points while he was in red pinstripes, Harper fueled the Phillies to victories all by himself. He's showing he's still elite – at least in spurts — and it could be one of the things that saves the season.
He's been the Phillies' most highly touted pitcher in the minor for years, but the former first-round pick looks a little worse each time he takes the mound for Philly. Is there just too much tape and not enough adaptation for the 23-year-old?
In 3.2 innings in Thursday's series finale, with a sweep on the table, Painter was just shredded by the A's, who knocked him for eight earned runs on seven hits and three walks. He gave up back-to-back two-run homers to start the game and that was pretty much it, as the offense was unable to climb out of the early hole. With Taijuan Walker no longer with the team, Painter's 6.89 ERA is the ugliest number on a starting staff that is otherwise emerging again as one of the best in the majors. Painter needs and deserves time to adjust to being a big league starter. With the Phillies behind the eight-ball after their horrible start in April, he might not have as much time as he needs if he doesn't show improvement soon.
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