After a frustrating four-game series split in Miami against the last-place Marlins, the Phillies returned to Citizens Bank Park for a six-game home stand beginning with three interleague contests against the Tampa Bay Rays. 

On Monday night, Cristopher Sánchez tossed six scoreless innings in a game the Phillies won 2-1 on a walk-off hit by Kody Clemens. Tuesday's game appeared to be going down to the wire until the Phillies racked up five runs in the eighth inning en route to a 9-4 lead. Many of their crucial hits came against Rays star reliever Edwin Uceta, who hit Nick Castellanos with a 96 mile-per-hour fastball, inciting the benches and bullpens to clear. Uceta was ejected, and before Wednesday's series finale received a three-game suspension, with Rays manager Kevin Cash also being suspended for one game. On Wednesday evening, a strong outing from Zack Wheeler and more bullpen dominance netted the Phillies a 3-2 victory.

Here is what stood out most from three September ballgames:

Sánchez, Clemens star in series opener win

In his second major-league outing against the team that traded him to the Phillies following the 2019 season, Sánchez continued his outstanding run in which he is cementing himself as one of the best left-handed starters in all of baseball. The 27-year-old southpaw allowed just four hits and one walk across six scoreless frames, striking out four and doing a terrific job keeping Rays hitters off-balance.

Despite surpassing his career-high in total innings for a professional season, Sánchez continues to improve as the season goes on. He has also been able to increase his velocity near the ends of recent outings. Sánchez has made all 28 of his scheduled starts so far this season, posting a 3.33 ERA in 165.0 innings pitched. His transformation remains a stunning one, and Phillies manager Rob Thomson still often expresses a level of shock that he has become such a good pitcher so quickly.

"He has a rubber arm," Thomson said of Sánchez on Tuesday afternoon, praising the starter's work ethic and physical shape.

The resurgent rookie reliever Orion Kerkering and veteran lefty Matt Strahm each put up zeroes in relief of Sánchez, and the Phillies held a 1-0 lead thanks to a solo homer by the red-hot Kyle Schwarber. But with closer Carlos Estévez on the mound in the ninth, a fly ball to left-center field fell out of the glove of Phillies center fielder Johan Rojas and over the wall for a game-tying home run.

However, the Phillies rallied in the bottom half of the inning. Bryce Harper and Bryson Stott each singled, and with two outs, infielder Buddy Kennedy stepped into the batter's box for his third plate appearance in a Phillies uniform. Kennedy, a Millville, NJ native acquired by the Phillies from the Detroit Tigers in July, was serenaded by a raucous chant of his first name. Kennedy drew a crucial walk, loading the bases with two outs for Clemens, who heard chants of his own first name before slapping a base hit into right field to walk the game off.

Ranger Suárez's poor outing overshadowed by strong offense and bench-clearing incident

Suárez threw five scoreless innings in Miami during his last start, but his velocity was down considerably across the board. The Phillies hoped to see their other trusted lefty starter look like his best self as October nears, but that is not what came to fruition. 

In 5.1 innings of work, Suárez allowed a career-high 12 hits. His velocity was better than it was in Miami, but still not in line with his averages. Rays hitters seemed ready for everything, and Suárez was lucky to only allow four earned runs -- Kerkering entered in his place with one out and runners on the corners and got out of the jam.

At that point, the game was still tied, as the Phillies scored four runs against Rays starter Taj Bradley in the first three innings of the game. Schwarber went deep again -- this time with a leadoff homer, his major-league record-setting 14th leadoff blast of the season. Rojas drove in Marsh on a double to the opposite field and Trea Turner launched a two-run shot to left field, giving Suárez a cushion that he turned out to need every bit of.

Schwarber would later be removed from the game due to elbow discomfort, which the team later clarified was a hyperextension. Schwarber ended up being scratched from the lineup on Wednesday, but Thomson indicated it was precautionary and that there is little concern about the Phillies slugger's status.

Strahm and José Alvarado each threw scoreless innings after Kerkering's escape job. The Phillies came up with the game tied in the bottom of the eighth, with Stott leading off. Stott "grounded out" on a line drive that looked like an extra-base hit in the making before the ball struck the first base umpire, ricocheting directly to the first baseman for an out. But Marsh followed up by drawing a walk, and Clemens came up next, delivering a double that gave the Phillies a pair runners in scoring position with one out in the inning.

That is when Cash summoned Uceta, a dominant right-hander who entered the game with a 0.75 ERA in 36.0 innings pitched in 2024 and had held opposing hitters to a .152/.191/.200 slash line. Thomson countered by pinch-hitting for Rojas with the left-handed-hitting outfielder Cal Stevenson, and Stevenson came through with a two-run double that put the Phillies ahead.

Asked on Wednesday if he believed Uceta's suspension was warranted, Thomson kept it short:

"Yes."

Phillies complete sweep with victory behind Zack Wheeler 

Castellanos got his revenge immediately on Wednesday night, hitting a two-run shot to left field in the first inning to put the Phillies ahead.

Wheeler had some very uncharacteristic struggles with command early on, including back-to-back walks to begin the second inning. His pitch count was higher than usual for much of his start as a result, but he eventually settled in. Wheeler's strikeout stuff was on full display, as he generating plenty of whiffs from Rays hitters. With the Phillies leading 2-1 in the top of the sixth inning, though, the Phillies' ace and NL Cy Young contender surrender a game-tying home run to first baseman Jonathan Aranda. He completed the inning, and his night was done.

The final line for Wheeler on Wednesday: 6.0 innings pitched, four hits, two earned runs, nine strikeouts and three walks on 103 pitches (69 strikes). In 29 starts in 2024, Wheeler owns a 2.60 ERA in 179.2 innings pitched.

The Phillies quickly regained the lead, though, going ahead 3-2 in the bottom of the sixth. Castellanos drew a walk, Marsh hit a single that sent Castellanos to third, and Weston Wilson put the Phillies back in front with a run-scoring infield single. After yet another strong outing for the Phillies bullpen, that was all the team needed to secure a series sweep.

Phillies on verge of winning first National League East crown since 2011

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Thomson has not been shy in discussing that winning the NL East for the first time in nearly 15 years is a priority for his club, and their strong rebound in the month of September has powered them in that direction. After Wednesday night's win, their Magic Number is 9 -- with an official clinch in a week or so seeming very much in play.

With seven games yet to be played between the Phillies and Mets, the Phillies have a chance to force their New York rivals out of division contention with a pair of strong series. The struggling Atlanta Braves, decimated by injuries, could reenter the picture, but the surging Mets appear to be a more valiant foe right now.

The Phillies have banked enough wins that in order to come up short in the division race, they would have to pair a blazing stretch from New York or Atlanta with an epic collapse of their own.

Up next: The Phillies have Thursday off before beginning a crucial stretch of three series. First, they host the Mets for three games. Aaron Nola will oppose lefty veteran Jose Quintana in the opener of the series Friday night. The Phillies are expected to recall left-hander Kolby Allard to start on Saturday, with Sánchez slated to return to the mound on Sunday.. They will then travel to Milwaukee for three games against the Brewers -- the only team standing in the way of the Phillies clinching a first-round bye in the postseason -- before heading to New York for four more games against the Mets. After this stretch, 156 games will be in the books, with only six left to play before October. Time flies!

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