It's hard to argue there's a baseball team on the planet right now that's hotter than the Philadelphia Phillies. Owners of the best record in Major League Baseball, the Phillies have been on a tear over the last three weeks. That continued Sunday night with a 5-4 win over the San Francisco Giants.
The win marked Philadelphia's ninth consecutive victory at home, the longest win streak the Phillies have had at Citizens Bank Park since 2010, per Sarah Langs. Remarkably, that team led by Ryan Howard and Roy Halladay won more than nine consecutive games at home twice during the 2010 season.
The 2010 Phillies had a 12-game home winning streak that began right before the All-Star break in July, followed by 10 straight wins at home in September. Philadelphia won 97 games and lost to the Giants in the NLCS.
The 2024 Phillies are on pace for an astronomical 111-win season. The odds are they don’t get to that number, but simply discussing those figures with 20 percent of the season behind us is an accomplishment.
The Phillies have won 16 of their last 19 games and are 24-11 entering Monday's action. Their 13 wins at home lead the MLB. Philadelphia can extend its win streak at home to 12 games this week, beginning with the series finale against the Giants on Monday before a quick two-game set against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Streaking is nothing new for the Fightin' Phils
Perhaps it doesn’t come as a huge surprise to see the Phillies consistently winning on their home turf. After all, the crowds at Citizens Bank Park have been among the most electric in the sport over the last few seasons. The Phils had quite the winning streak on the road last season though, matching a franchise record with 13 consecutive wins away from home.
This year's Phillies team is not much different than last year's in composition, but they're winning in multiple ways while occasionally falling back on the power-heavy lineup.
Philadelphia's starting pitching quickly established itself among the best in the league and continues to trend that way. Phillies starters have a 2.65 ERA and lead all rotations in fWAR.
Ranger Suarez, Philadelphia's No. 3 starter behind Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola, was named National League Pitcher of the Month after his stellar April. The 28-year-old posted a 5-0 record with a 1.32 ERA and 0.63 WHIP, including a string of 32 consecutive scoreless innings. He followed it with his sixth straight quality start in a Phillies win on Saturday.
Offensively, the Phillies lineup is hitting on all cylinders. They've scored more than five runs per game across their last 19 games and were held to two or fewer runs only three times in that stretch. Philadelphia ranks fifth in the MLB in team batting average, OPS, runs and home runs.
Phillies operating without Trea Turner
It's only been two games without him, but the Phillies look comfortable in Trea Turner's absence after the star shortstop injured his hamstring on Friday. He expects to miss at least six weeks, keeping him out until mid-June at the earliest.
The Phillies have a lineup that can sustain success if one of their big bats goes down. There will likely be times when Philadelphia misses Turner's speed on the basepaths and losing a No. 2 hitter is never easy, but the Phillies should have no problem staying among the league's best without one of their stars.
There's been a knock on the Phillies' impressive start because of the caliber of opponents they've played. In reality, every NL East team plays the same opponents (albeit some series are swapped between home and away) and a team's job is to go out every day and try to beat who's in front of it.
The schedule will eventually get tougher for the Phillies. They'll likely hit a skid or two throughout the season as any team does. Right now, Philadelphia is home to the best team in the MLB. It could be just the beginning of another memorable season for the Phillies.
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