Checking in on the Phillies: What's working and what's not amid their recent hot streak?

· Yahoo Sports

The Phillies arrived in Seattle on a high, with the wind in their sails and a nine-game winning streak at their backs. That run came to an abrupt end on Monday, when the Mariners clobbered Zack Wheeler and limited the Phillies’ offense to one run. After another lackluster offensive showing in a loss Tuesday, the Phillies bounced back Wednesday with a flurry of runs against Bryan Woo.

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In all, it was a capable showing. Traveling to Seattle is never easy. Leaving with a victory avoided disaster and sets the Phillies up for a more comfortable series this weekend in Anaheim. All in all, it has been quite the month for this red-pinstriped roller coaster, which went from unwatchable to untouchable in the blink of an eye. 

So what’s going right? And what’s not? Here are four things I’m thinking about the Phillies.

There’s something delightfully bizarre about the arrival of Luis Arraez, a player with a microscopic career walk rate, helping to catalyze the Phillies into drawing an avalanche of free passes. 

Since the contact maestro’s Philadelphia debut on Aug. 4, the club has the single highest walk rate in the sport. Before Arraez showed up, the Phillies ranked 27th. Arraez, for his part, has walked just twice as a Phillie.

It makes sense, then, that his monumental shift in approach traces to before Arraez joined the club. According to The Athletic’s Charlotte Varnes, a hitters meeting in late July spurred open conversation about how the entire team could stand to be more selective at the plate. But few souls in that room could’ve imagined the results being this definitive this quickly. Bryce Harper is walking in more than one-quarter of his plate appearances; Bryson Stott nearly a fifth.

And despite ranking in the bottom-five in runs per game among National League teams for most of the season, the Phillies have led the senior circuit in runs since the beginning of August. It’s a remarkable turnaround initiated by a conscious recommitment to discipline.

Much has been made about the inflammatory comments offered by Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski during last October’s end-of-season media conference. Asked about Harper’s subpar 2025, Dombrowski didn’t pull punches.

“He’s still a quality player. He’s still an All-Star-caliber player,” the longtime exec said. “He didn’t have an elite season like he has had in the past. And I guess we only find out if he becomes elite or if he continues to be good.”

Harper, as he often does, openly expressed his displeasure with his boss’ criticism. At one point over the winter, he was seen taking swings while wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the words “not elite.” Still, he refused to accept Dombrowski’s prodding as worthwhile fuel for the fire. He didn’t need motivation, he insisted; he’s Bryce Harper.

Well, whatever the impetus, Harper has returned to being elite. His .892 OPS ranks seventh in MLB. His .385 OBP ranks sixth. He cranked his 27th homer on Wednesday, matching his tally from 2025. Beyond the lines, Harper has been more engaged and has carried himself with a more upbeat comportment than in years past. Upon Arraez’s arrival, he gladly shifted to right field to accommodate a dramatic defensive reshuffle. 

Still chasing his first ring, Harper will always be judged by his playoff performance. Coming off his first homerless postseason since 2016, he looks primed to enter this October at his best.

For long stretches throughout the first half, the Phillies’ offense was effectively a three-man weave. Harper, Kyle Schwarber and the hirsute Brandon Marsh were tasked with carrying the lineup as Trea Turner, J.T. Realmuto, Alec Bohm and Bryson Stott struggled out of the blocks. Free-agent acquisition Adolis García was a dud and then got hurt. Rookie Justin Crawford looked underbaked and overmatched.

But the baseball season is long and full of opportunity.

Stott has been an .800 OPS hitter for a few months now. Crawford is hitting .300 since May 27. Midseason roster fill-ins Derek Hill and Bryan De La Cruz have both provided a spark. Realmuto has rediscovered competence. Turner authored a stellar July. Arraez brings an entirely new dynamic.

And then there’s Bohm, who has gone from Philadelphia’s Public Enemy No. 1 to resurrected savior more times than anyone can count. The beginning of this season brought a new low for the curly-haired, lean-limbed infielder, who held a .627 OPS into July. Accordingly, fans were surprised when the complicated defensive realignment following the Arraez trade was done in a way that kept Bohm in the lineup.

Perhaps that was a wake-up call, because Bohm has been fantastic of late, with a near-.900 OPS in August. His resurgence has reshaped the bottom half of this lineup.

There’s a lot going well in Philadelphia’s starting rotation right now. Cristopher Sánchez continues to sop up innings and WAR on the way to what should be a second straight NL Cy Young runner-up finish. Jesús Luzardo rebounded from a very unlucky start to the year and is rocking a sub-2.50 ERA over his past 21 outings. Aaron Nola has a 2.60 ERA over his past six starts after seeing his season figure exceed 6.00 in late June.

Rookie Andrew Painter, demoted to Triple-A in June, has looked like a different cat since reemerging in late July. His eruption in particular has solidified the back end of a staff that at one point was losing a staggering amount of games started by the fifth spot in the rotation.

Yet this group’s most reliable stalwart, Zack Wheeler, that wonderfully gruff, flame-throwing metronome, has slogged through a concerningly substandard stretch. The 36-year-old, who returned from a life-threatening thoracic outlet issue earlier this season, has a 8.51 ERA over his past six. After what was shaping up to be the best season of his career, this has been, far and away, the worst stretch of Wheeler’s Phillies tenure.

Somewhat reassuringly, Wheeler’s issues are mostly command-based and haven’t been related to a drop in velocity, always a concern with pitchers on the wrong side of 35. His sinker, the pitch he throws second-most, has been missing arm-side to an outrageous degree. The offering has a zone rate of 34.9% — far, far below Wheeler’s career norm. That has led to an uptick in free passes (he walked five the other night in Seattle), something that can doom any pitcher, even one as talented and as experienced as Wheeler. He has also struggled to throw his splitter and breaking balls for strikes. That has forced him to throw his four-seam fastball in the zone more than he’d like, a likely culprit behind this recent schneid.

The long-term concern with Wheeler is mostly moderate. He says he feels strong and healthy coming off the TOS surgery. The stuff isn’t backing up. That all points to a hurler who is out of sync, not injured or over-the-hill. Still, with the playoffs rapidly approaching, getting Wheeler right has to be one of this club’s top priorities.

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