Teams carry 26 players in the postseason, same as they do from April through August before rosters expand to 28 for September.

In October, teams carry either 13 position players and 13 pitchers or 14 position players and 12 pitchers. Most opt for the additional arm, the 13-13 split, but the Phillies appear more likely to go with 14 position players and 12 pitchers, especially in the Best-of-5 Divisional Round.

J.T. Realmuto, Garrett Stubbs, Bryce Harper, Bryson Stott, Trea Turner, Alec Bohm, Edmundo Sosa, Kyle Schwarber, Nick Castellanos, Brandon Marsh and Johan Rojas are 11 locks among position players.

Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Cristopher Sanchez, Ranger Suarez, Carlos Estevez, Jeff Hoffman, Matt Strahm, Orion Kerkering, Jose Alvarado, Tanner Banks and Jose Ruiz are 11 locks among pitchers.

That’s 22 of 26, leaving four roster spots total for Austin Hays, Weston Wilson, Cal Stevenson, Kody Clemens and Buddy Kennedy among position players, plus pitchers Taijuan Walker, Kolby Allard, Tyler Gilbert, Max Lazar and potentially Spencer Turnbull.

You look at the list of pitchers and wonder whether any of them would serve an actual role in a seven-game series, much less a five-game series. Walker, Allard, Gilbert or Lazar would only appear if a game is lopsided or extends deep into extra innings. Having two pitchers from that group on the postseason roster would seem redundant, especially with off-days leading up to the NLDS and after Games 2 and 4.

In contrast, the extra position player allows for a bit more managerial strategy and likely a platoon advantage in one more plate appearance per night. In the postseason when every at-bat counts, that could matter.

On Monday night in Milwaukee, Thomson pinch-hit the right-handed Kennedy for the lefty-hitting Stevenson in the seventh inning against a southpaw. The Brewers countered by bringing in right-hander Colin Rea and Thomson responded by replacing Kennedy with left-handed-hitting Clemens, who lined out.

It was a three-player move, the kind you might not be able to make with just four extra position players rather than five.

Hays, if healthy, will likely be on the NLDS roster. He hasn’t hit righties but he’s hit .350 this season against lefties. He’ll meet the Phillies at Citi Field on Thursday and go through a full workout before the team determines where he continues his rehab. The kidney infection that has sidelined him since September 1 is out of his system, Thomson said.

Wilson has been such an important piece against lefties that he, too, seems to have an inside track to a roster spot, especially since he can play both the infield and outfield. Hays’ presence would complicate the picture for Wilson and require the Phillies to carry the 14th position player for the sake of having a lefty bat on the bench (Clemens or Stevenson).

Estevez, Hoffman, Strahm and Kerkering are the Phillies’ core four leverage relievers. Alvarado, Banks and Ruiz are likelier to enter in the fourth, fifth or sixth inning after a short start. But even in the event of a short start, Thomson said he’d feel comfortable using one of his key relievers for more than one inning.

“I think we’re in a good spot,” he said before Wednesday’s series finale against the Brewers. “You’ve got the days off so you can push them a little bit, one-plus a guy. Strahm’s able to do it, Hoffman’s able to do it. Alvarado. Kerkering’s done it. A lot of guys have done it, maybe not lately, but I’m confident they’ll be able to do it again.”

Turnbull is in Clearwater trying to work his way back to the bigs. He’s been out since June 26 with a lat strain. Even if he’s not ready for the NLDS, which begins October 5, he could potentially be in play later in the month if the Phillies advance.

Turnbull threw 25 pitches in a live batting practice session Tuesday in Florida.

“We’re just trying to figure out what to do with him next,” Thomson said, “whether it’s another simulated game or an actual game at Lehigh.”

The Triple A season ends for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs on Sunday, so time is running out to get Turnbull or Hays into a game there. If they can’t, they’d either continue their work in Clearwater or back north in Philly.

Start after start, month after month, year after year, Wheeler has shown up when the Phillies have needed him. Sometimes it’s been to stop a skid. Sometimes it’s to extend a winning streak. Sometimes it’s to set a tone for a series. Sometimes it’s to win a series.

“He’s the Cy Young, man,” Bryce Harper said Tuesday night. “I don’t think anybody in baseball is better than him at this point. People down in Atlanta probably think the same thing about the guy throwing down there. I think he got robbed of it three years ago and I believe he earned it this year.”

Wheeler led the Phillies to a 5-1 win Tuesday, a massive result because it was effectively two wins for the price of one, increasing their lead over the Brewers to five games — four plus the tiebreaker.

The victory clinched the Phillies the season series over Milwaukee. They’re 91-60 and lead the Brewers by five games with 11 to play, positioning the Phils tremendously well to earn at least a top-two seed and first-round playoff bye.

The Phils also picked up a game on the Dodgers, who surprisingly lost a slugfest in Miami. They lead the Dodgers by three games for the top overall playoff seed — two plus the tiebreaker.

Harper made Wheeler a winner with an opposite-field, two-run homer off Frankie Montas in the sixth inning of a tie game. It was Harper’s third in four games and 29th of the season.

“He’s been swinging well,” Wheeler said. “The home runs hadn’t been there but he doesn’t always need to hit home runs. As long as he’s getting hits and putting good at-bats together, home runs will come. I told him probably a week ago, just keep swinging and keep doing your thing, home runs will come.”

Nick Castellanos put the Phils on the board early with a first-pitch, leadoff homer to center in the top of the second, his 21st of the year. It was a welcome sign for a player who’d hit .178 over his last 13 games and .114 in September against starting pitchers.

The Brewers were held in check most of the night by Wheeler. He pitched seven innings of one-run ball, worked ahead, missed bats, threw his four-seamer just above the zone for called strikes and whiffs, froze hitters with two-seamers, induced weak contact … did all the things he usually does.

It’s mid-September and Wheeler reached back to hit 97 mph late in the win.

“He used his fastball more than probably any other start this year,” manager Rob Thomson said. “They just saw the life to it, it had ride up and sink down. They stayed with it and it was really effective. Just a great performance.”

The only inning Milwaukee posed a threat was the bottom of the fourth when William Contreras singled and Garrett Mitchell tripled him in with one out. Wheeler struck out the next hitter, Willy Adames, on three pitches and ended the inning with a flyout to right.

Wheeler is 16-6 with a 2.56 ERA and 0.95 WHIP through 30 starts. He’s allowed the lowest rate of hits and baserunners in the National League. He’s struck out 205 and walked 49 through 186⅔ innings. This has been his best regular season as a Phillie.

He’s still probably the Cy Young runner-up as of today to Chris Sale, who is 17-3 with a 2.35 ERA and 219 strikeouts, leading the NL in each category. But if Sale gets lit up once or twice in his final two starts and Wheeler gives the Phillies two more like this, the numbers and race will even out.

“He’s really something, man,” Thomson said. “He’s been so consistent ever since he’s gotten here. He’s earned every penny he’s made. He’s so huge to this club. He just takes the ball and can manhandle people when he wants to.”

Beyond having Wheeler on the hill, Thomson also knew he was working with a rested bullpen. Matt Strahm hadn’t pitched since last Wednesday, Carlos Estevez and Jeff Hoffman since Saturday or Orion Kerkering since Sunday. They’re the Phillies’ core four relievers, all boasting ERAs between 1.76 and 2.03.

Wheeler handed the ball off to the bullpen with a three-run lead after Kyle Schwarber added seventh-inning insurance by singling in the returning Edmundo Sosa. Trea Turner drove in another in the top of the ninth with a two-out single after Johan Rojas walked and stole second.

The Phillies are 9-2 this season against the Dodgers and the Brewers, the teams with the second- and third-best records. They’re 23-10 against the other five teams currently in NL playoff position, with the next-best record belonging to the Padres at 20-20.

“I think when you get done with the season, it’s over. You’ve got to keep going. The postseason’s a different animal,” Harper said. “It’s different. It excites me. I think every guy in this clubhouse has the same demeanor. I know as a team we just want to be healthy going in and try to do the job we can.”

Wednesday night offers a chance at a series win and for Aaron Nola to find a rhythm ahead of the playoffs after giving up 11 runs in his last nine innings.

“We needed a win here, for sure,” Thomson said. “Try and win the series tomorrow. Just getting the tiebreaker over these guys is gonna be huge coming down the stretch.”

“The atmosphere at the ballpark this season has been electric, thanks to the best fans in baseball,” Phillies Senior Vice President of Ticket Operations and Projects, John Weber, said. “We’re thrilled about the possibility of another Red October in Philadelphia. We encourage fans to sign up at phillies.com/postseason for a chance to purchase tickets to a postseason game at Citizens Bank Park.”

Here’s what fans need to know:

• Only eligible fans whose registration is selected in the random drawing(s) happening for each round will have the opportunity, subject to availability, to purchase tickets.

• Registration for all potential rounds of the postseason on phillies.com/postseason will end on Saturday, October 12, at 11:59 p.m. EDT.
• Once registered, fans will be eligible for a ticket opportunity for all potential postseason rounds.
• Entries randomly selected will be notified via email with an opportunity to purchase postseason home game tickets based upon availability.
• Registration does not guarantee you the opportunity to purchase Phillies postseason tickets.

“Given that our season ticket base has doubled to 20,000 in the past two years, ticket availability will be extremely limited through this opportunity,” Weber said.

You can find a complete list of rules and terms and conditions here.

Fans may also purchase Phillies postseason tickets via SeatGeek, the Official Fan-to-Fan Ticket Marketplace of the Phillies and Major League Baseball.

Suarez was one of the most important parts of the Phillies’ tremendous first half, going 10-1 with a 1.75 ERA in his first 15 starts, but he hasn’t been nearly the same guy his last 10 times out. He has a 5.61 ERA since June 25, missing a month from July 27 to August 24 with lower back soreness.

He allowed three runs and needed 104 pitches to get through five innings. The decisive frame was the bottom of the third when leadoff man Jackson Chourio walked and Blake Perkins singled off Suarez with one out for Willson Contreras, who laced a two-run double to left-center on a full count. The Phillies looked up from that point forward.

“I think I was battling myself tonight,” he said. “That was the main reason why I left the game so early. A lot of pitches. A lot of two-strike counts. I just wasn’t as effective as I usually am with those.”

Suarez walked Rhys Hoskins to begin the bottom of the fourth and quickly found himself in a second-and-third, no-out jam. He rebounded with a flyout, groundout and strikeout but the Brewers added another run.

The lefty had a scare in the inning, slipping as he came off the mound to field a softly-hit groundball. Suarez’ left foot gave way and he landed on his right wrist, but he remained in the game and retired the final four hitters he faced.

It wasn’t a terrible night, but Suarez’ command wasn’t sharp. He walked three — two of which scored — and spent nearly as much of the night behind in the count as he did ahead.

“He had trouble finishing hitters off tonight,” manager Rob Thomson said. “I think he had 16 two-strike counts and only five punchouts. That’s a little bit low for him. You’ve got to give them credit, they put some good at-bats on him, but those walks hurt.”

As fantastic as he was through mid-June, Suarez probably lines up as the Phillies’ No. 4 starter in a playoff series at this point. He has been clearly out-pitched the last month by Cristopher Sanchez, and if the Phillies end up starting Sanchez in Game 2 of the NLDS, they’d likely split up the righties and lefties, using Aaron Nola in Game 3.

There are still more than two weeks until that decision has to be made. Game 1 of the NLDS is October 5.

“First of all, we have to get there,” Suarez said when asked about finding a rhythm ahead of the playoffs.

Thomson has referred to Suarez’ last few starts as basically rehab starts since he did not go on a rehab assignment after missing four weeks with his back injury. Suarez disputed that notion, though.

“No, I’m not calling it that,” he said. “I think there’s a reason why I didn’t go on a rehab assignment and it’s because I didn’t need it. I just think that I battled myself tonight more than usual.

“Executing those 0-2, 1-2 pitches better and finishing off counts, that’s gonna be one of the goals I set for myself.”

The series in Milwaukee this week is a potential playoff preview and carries great importance in the National League playoff field. The Phils are three games ahead of the Brewers with the head-to-head tiebreaker, making it a de facto four-game lead.

The Phillies are aiming for the top overall seed and their lead over the Dodgers is two games — one plus the tiebreaker. The top seed aside, beating up on the Brewers this week would get the Phils closer to guaranteeing themselves at least one of the top two playoff positions, both of which receive byes.

If the Phillies win the next two nights, they’ll head to New York with a six-game lead over the Brewers.

If they end up losing two of three in Milwaukee, they’ll head to New York with a four-game lead over the Brewers (three plus the tiebreaker).

And if they’re swept at American Family Field, the Phillies will be just two games ahead of the Brewers and no longer in possession of the tiebreaker since they’d have split the season’s six meetings. The next tiebreaker is record within your own division and the Brewers (30-19) have a decent advantage over the Phillies (27-18).

Kyle Schwarber appeared to homer on the first pitch of the game Monday but it was barely foul and he struck out looking two pitches later. Brewers right-hander Aaron Civale K’d seven over five innings, allowing just a solo homer to Brandon Marsh in the top of the fifth.

The Phillies didn’t help themselves by running into two outs in the third inning. Cal Stevenson walked but was thrown out at third on a Trea Turner single to right field. Then Turner mistimed Civale’s delivery and took off too early for second base, resulting in a caught stealing.

The sixth inning was a prime comeback opportunity when Schwarber and Turner opened with singles, down two, to chase Civale. But the Brewers turned to former Phillies lefty Hoby Milner and Bryce Harper lined out, Nick Castellanos struck out and Alec Bohm grounded out back to the mound.

The Phillies put their first two men on in the seventh against Milner but managed only one run. The Brewers’ bullpen has the lowest ERA in the National League at 3.17. The first two relievers the Phillies used — Jose Alvarado and Tanner Banks — were erratic and combined to allow three runs.

“We got enough hits to score some runs but it just didn’t happen,” Thomson said.

The Phils look to even the series on Tuesday night behind their ace, Zack Wheeler (15-6, 2.60). The Brewers will start Frankie Montas (7-10, 4.49).

When it comes to Phillies rivalries, in other words, the Brewers barely move the needle. They were a speed bump on the way to winning the 2008 World Series. They’re the team that signed Rhys Hoskins as a free agent last winter. That’s about it.

Temporarily, at least, that’s about to change. For the next three nights at American Family Field, it’s Milwaukee standing directly between the Phils and achieving the first significant team objective they had when they first gathered in Clearwater in February: to win the division and avoid playing in the wild-card round.

Even though the Phillies have had success playing the extra series, making it to the World Series in 2022 and coming within one win of going back last year, manager Rob Thomson has made it clear that getting five days off after the regular season ends September 29 in Washington is a top priority.

Winning two of three in the just-completed series against the Mets mattered because the Phillies are trying to amass enough wins to finish with baseball’s best record, which earns home-field advantage throughout the postseason.

Catcher J.T. Realmuto said it was like a playoff atmosphere. “These are the types of games you’re going to play in the postseason. These are the type of the opponents we’re going to be playing,” he said. “It’s no secret we love playing here at The Bank and feel like we have the best homefield advantage in baseball. The one-seed is very important to us and we’re going to play as well as we can until we get it.”

The upcoming series in the Badger State, however, presents a more immediate opportunity and more straight-line impact to determine how the teams are seeded when the regular season concludes in two weeks.

Barring a cataclysm, the Phillies will win the National League East, the Brewers the Central and the Dodgers the West. The team with the third-best record will have to compete in the wild card round to advance.

The Phillies presently hold a four-game edge over Milwaukee. So here’s what’s at stake:

• Since they swept Milwaukee at The Bank the first week in June, the Phillies need just one win to clinch the tie-breaker.

• If the Phillies sweep, they’d be 8 up with 10 games left to play. Any combination thereafter of Phillies wins and Brewers losses totaling 3 guarantees a first-round bye.

• If the Phillies win two of three, that Magic Number is 5.

• If the Phillies lose two of three, it’s 7.

• If the Phillies get swept, it’s 9. And the tiebreaker would revert to best record within the division. Right now, Milwaukee is 30-19 against the NLC with just three games (at Pittsburgh) remaining. The Phillies are 26-18 with four at New York and the final weekend at Washington left.

Even though the Phillies took care of the Brewers more than three months ago, it’s worth noting that each of those games was decided by one or two runs, one in extra innings. Also, the venue matters. The Phillies are 52-25 (.675) at Citizens Bank Park this year and 38-34 (.528) everywhere else.

Milwaukee has a better record (50-37) and run differential (+76) since leaving Citizens Bank Park than the Phillies (46-40, +15). And there are two notable reasons for that.

Rookie outfielder Jackson Chourio was hitting .211 with a .592 OPS through that series, but has been raking ever since. Going into Sunday, in his next 81 games, he hit .308/.909. Shortstop Willy Adames left Philadelphia with 9 homers in 63 games and then hit 23 in his subsequent 86 games.

The pitching matchups also offer some behind-the-numbers intrigue. Ranger Suarez (12-6, 3.05) will face Aaron Civale (6-8, 4.57) Monday. That looks good on paper, but Suarez has something to prove. His earned run average is 6.02 in his last eight starts.

In Game 2 it will be Zack Wheeler (15-6, 2.60) vs. Frankie Montas (7-10, 4.49) followed by Aaron Nola (12-8, 3.62) vs. Freddy Peralta (11-8, 3.75). Nola, too, will be looking to right himself. He’s failed to complete five innings in each of his last two starts while giving up a total of 11 earned runs.

All games start at 7:40 p.m. EDT on NBC Sports Philadelphia.

They don’t make any assumptions about where they stand until the math proves it. And maybe not even then until it’s posted on Facebook.

With two weeks remaining in the regular season, only a force majeure will prevent the Phillies from making the postseason for the third straight season. They beat the Mets, 2-1 on a walkoff single in the bottom of the ninth by catcher J.T. Realmuto Sunday and continue to hold the best record in baseball.

Add the fact that lefthander Cristopher Sanchez had just turned in one of his best performances of the season – one run on six hits in seven-plus innings – and the question to Rob Thomson postgame was inevitable: Could he imagine Sanchez starting Game 2 in the postseason?

“We haven’t really gotten there yet,” the manager said, ducking and dodging like Walter Payton eluding would-be tacklers. “Once we get in, if we get in, we’ll figure that out.”

Hey, he didn’t deny it.

There are two reasons why that would make sense. The first is that Sanchez (10-9, 3.24) would break up the two righthanders, presumed Game 1 starter Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola. Second, and more compelling, are his home-road splits.

At Citizens Bank Park his earned run average is 2.11, the third best in baseball. He’s 7-3 with an 0.96 WHIP and a .220 opponent’s batting average.

On the road, his ERA is 5.13, the fourth worst in MLB. He’s 3-6 with a 1.67 WHIP and a .314 opponent’s batting average.

“It’s hard to say,” said J.T. Realmuto. “I know the numbers are different. I don’t notice anything different when I’m catching him. It still feels like the stuff is as good. He feels like the same pitcher. I don’t know if there’s something to it or not.”

Even Sanchez can’t make sense of it.

“I think I have to work on that and get better at that,” he said through interpreter Diego D’Aniello. “I’ve noticed. I’ve checked the numbers. They’re not so good on the road, so that’s something I’ve got to work on to get better.”

Assuming the Phillies earn homefield advantage in the best-of-5 Division Series, Game 2 would be at home, Game 3 on the road.

The argument against moving Sanchez up in the rotation is that Nola, by dint of his tenure with the organization and his past accomplishments, deserves that honor. And, of course, how well each starter – including Ranger Suarez, who gets the ball Monday night in Milwaukee – performs between now and October 5 can change the outlook dramatically.

Against the Mets, his formula for success was pretty straightforward: According to Thomson, 42 of his first 50 pitches were strikes as were 69 of 87 (79.3 percent) overall. “Unbelievable,” the manager said.

One way or the other, the Phillies will be relying on him. That’s a switch from just a year ago when it wasn’t a given that he’d get on the mound at all. He was on the postseason roster, but didn’t appear, in the wild card or division rounds. He made one start in the NLCS against Arizona, giving up two runs (one earned) on two hits in 2.1 innings.

“Experience plays a big part in this. I think it’s going to be one of the keys because I’ve been through the postseason before and that’s prepared me better,” Sanchez said.

No matter which day he pitches.

Subscribe anywhere you get your podcasts:
Apple Podcasts | Youtube Music | Spotify | Stitcher | Art19 | RSS | Watch on YouTube

Because he was starting at third base for the Phillies against the Mets at Citizens Bank Park instead.

It was announced Sunday morning that the 2024 All-Star, who was originally scheduled to play two rehab games for the IronPigs after going on the injured list with a left hand strain, had been reinstated. Catcher Aramis Garcia was designated for assignment.

“He did well (2-for-4 including a double) and felt really good,” manager Rob Thomson explained. “Played nine innings. I said two days in case he needed two days. I didn’t want to say he was only going for one day and then he’s there for two and everybody’s asking why.”

 Said Bohm: “I went out there and felt good, so I’m not wasting time in Triple-A.”

The new plan is for Bohm to start again Monday in Milwaukee and then assess his condition.

Despite missing 14 games, Bohm went into play on Sunday second in baseball in doubles with 44, one short of Scott Rolen’s franchise record for a third baseman. Overall, he’s batting .290 with an .805 OPS. With the return of designated hitter Kyle Schwarber (hand) and catcher J.T. Realmuto (knee), the Phillies now have all their regulars back.

Infielder Edmundo Sosa (back spasms), who also began a rehab assignment Friday, remained with the IronPigs. He’s expected to rejoin the team in Milwaukee and be activated on Tuesday.

Subscribe anywhere you get your podcasts:
Apple Podcasts | Youtube Music | Spotify | Stitcher | Art19 | RSS | Watch on YouTube

Charlie Manuel and Larry Bowa combined to manage 1,117 Phillies victories. To put that in perspective, it represents more than 10 percent of all the wins ever for a franchise that opened for business in 1883.

At that moment, the topic of conversation was the importance of having momentum going into the postseason. The Phillies appeared to be headed toward their second consecutive loss and the franchise icons were just a trifle nettled.

“You can’t flip the switch,” said Bowa, repeating an admonition he’d uttered often in his managerial career. “You’ve got to be on all cylinders, man, until you clinch. You can’t be BSing.”

Maybe the Phillies didn’t flip a switch Saturday. But they did come back to win, 6-4, on the strength of Bryce Harper’s first two homers in a month and yet another huge off-the-bench contribution. This time the Hero for a Day was outfielder Cal Stevenson, who doubled in the tying and winning runs with two outs in the bottom of the seventh and also made two highlights reel worthy defensive plays on the warning track, the second of which robbed Mets designated hitter J.D. Martinez of a homer to dead center in the top of the eighth.

Still, the issue of finishing strong is one the Phillies will grapple with in the final two weeks of the regular season.

Manuel well remembers 2011. The Phils won 102 games, still a franchise record. They also lost their eighth straight in the first game of a doubleheader against the Mets on September 24 with just four games left before the playoffs started.

Not wanting to go into the postseason on a downward trend, Manuel pushed to get his team back on track. Sure enough, they finished with four straight wins, including outlasting the Braves in 13 innings on the last day of the regular season … but were eliminated by the Cardinals in the first round.

“I was concerned with how we were playing at the time,” he said Saturday. “You can definitely start resting your players too early. Right now, if I was in the position the Phillies are in, I would definitely want to get the bye in the first round.”

That, of course, is the difference. When Bowa and Manuel were managing, having the two best records among the three division winners didn’t result in a bye in the wild card round. That only strengthened their conviction that pedal-to-the-medal is the way to go under the current playoff structure.

“Right now, I’d definitely be playing for the home field,” Manuel said. “And the bye. That first round is where you can get ambushed.”

Bowa amplified the thought. “I never thought, in baseball, there was a homefield advantage. But in this park? I think there is a homefield advantage, I really do. I don’t think there’s one anywhere else,” he said.

“There’s another thing when you’ve got a lead like this. Mentally, you’re saying, ‘We’re good.’ Which we are. Something really bad’s got to happen (not to win the division). But the last week, I’m letting all those guys play. Turn it back on. I’m not sitting them down. Because they can rest during the bye.”

In 2022, the Phillies secured the final wild card spot by just a game over the Brewers and then went all the way to the World Series. “Every game was like a playoff game the last three weeks. The Mets have been playing every game like a playoff game for the last, I don’t know, month? There’s something to that,” he said.

“If they go in, ‘Ah, well, we’re 4-10 the last 14 games?’ And now you’ve got a week off? I’d be concerned. I would definitely be concerned. You want to be playing good going into that. You don’t want to be scuffling.”

Subscribe anywhere you get your podcasts:
Apple Podcasts | Youtube Music | Spotify | Stitcher | Art19 | RSS | Watch on YouTube

This was the biggest game of his life.

Cal Stevenson delivered his second late game-winner of the week, hitting a go-ahead two-run double in the seventh inning Saturday, then leaping over the wall in center field to rob J.D. Martinez of a game-tying homer 10 minutes later.

Stevenson perfectly tracked and timed Martinez’ deep flyball to begin the top of the eighth, catching it in the palm of his glove to preserve the Phillies’ lead in a 6-4 win over the Mets.

“It kinda moves in slow motion just because when it’s up there, you know you have time,” he said. “Thank god I squeezed onto it. I think I almost over-jumped to catch it.”

The 28-year-old reserve outfielder was also the hero on Tuesday night, hitting the game-winning two-run double with one out in the eighth against the Rays. Stevenson was recalled last week from Triple A and is making the most of increased playing time with Austin Hays sidelined by a kidney infection.

“That one tops it, that one for sure tops it,” Stevenson said of Saturday compared to Tuesday. “It’s been a good (week). It feels good to contribute this late in the year to this team. We’re fighting for a 1-seed and the best record in baseball. Obviously, I don’t get a whole lot of opportunities, so when I do get in there, you want to make the most of them.”

The big guns like Bryce Harper and Trea Turner have come through for the Phillies this week but they’ve won four of five games largely because their depth pieces have stepped up. On Monday, Buddy Kennedy and Kody Clemens keyed the walk-off. On Tuesday and Saturday, Stevenson provided the late lead. On Wednesday, Weston Wilson had the game-winning infield hit and third-string catcher Aramis Garcia nailed a runner trying to steal second with nobody out in the ninth inning of a one-run game.

“I said to (Cal) today, I said to Buddy the other day, I said if you can take those at-bats in that situation, you can take any at-bat in your career,” Harper relayed. “In that moment, 40,000-plus people, big situation, I think that’s why we rely so heavily on our young guys, on guys like that, because we know that they can come through. I don’t think the moment was too big at all.”

Saturday’s win evened the Phillies’ series with the Mets and improved them to 89-59 with 14 games to play. It looked for a while like a loss before Harper provided two huge jolts of energy to the dugout and sellout crowd of 44,563, finally ending a five-week personal home run drought with two in the span of two innings.

Harper went 128 plate appearances from August 9 through Saturday without a homer. He’s been ripping the ball all week at Citizens Bank Park but settling for doubles (and a single) off the wall.

“I don’t think I missed anything. I don’t understand how the ball’s not going,” he said on Tuesday after doubling three times. “You hit it at 108 (mph) at 20 or 22 (degrees) and it’s not going outta the yard. I’ve never seen that at The Bank.”

It all ended in the bottom of the fourth Saturday when Harper sent a solo shot over the wall in left-center against Luis Severino. Batting in the bottom of the sixth, he cracked a no-doubter to right field, a two-run shot and his 28th of the year.

Excluding Harper, the Phillies had been 1-for-18 over the first six innings but put two men on base quickly in the seventh with consecutive singles by Bryson Stott and J.T. Realmuto. Brandon Marsh bunted foul for strike one but then laid a nice one down the third-base line to advance both runners. The successful sacrifice bunt has eluded the Phillies much of the year, and players like Marsh and Johan Rojas could find themselves in an important sacrifice opportunity in the postseason.

Wilson struck out looking for the second out of the seventh and Stevenson fell behind in the count 1-2 against 99 mph-throwing righty Reid Garrett before lacing his double off the wall in right. He received a massive ovation when catching the final out of the eighth, three batters after robbing Martinez. Realmuto provided insurance with a two-out RBI double in the bottom half.

The Phillies are 21-9 against the other five teams in National League playoff position, far better than any of the rest. The Padres are 20-20, the Diamondbacks are 18-21, the Dodgers are 19-23, the Mets are 14-17 and the Brewers are 10-12.

The Phils go for the series win on Sunday at 1:35 p.m. Cristopher Sanchez (10-9, 3.33) starts opposite left-hander David Peterson (9-2, 2.98).

“We’re ahead of them eight games but there’s still some time left and we’re trying to create some space between them,” Stevenson said. “That one felt good just to come through for the guys, especially with two outs late in the game.”

Even as Ranger Suárez has struggled to regain his mojo after two visits to the injured list (2-4, 6.02 in his last 8 starts), they could console themselves with the thought that Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola and Cristopher Sánchez was still a pretty doggone good 1-2-3.

After Nola was rocked in a 11-3 loss to the Mets on Friday night at Citizens Bank Park, though, ya gotta believe that just the slightest hint of doubt is beginning to creep in.

The Phillies, of course, will deny that they’re worried in the least. They’ll point to Nola’s track record and his composure and his previous successes in the playoffs. But the stark reality is that he’s given up 15 runs (11 earned) while failing to complete five innings in either of his last two starts.

“I think it’s just a little bit of (lack of) command,” manager Rob Thomson said. “They put a lot of pitches on him the first two innings. I think that took a toll on him. I have no concern. We’re not in (the postseason). I’ve said that all along. But I think his performance in October has showed he can bounce back.”

Nola ended up throwing 90 pitches. . .just four less than Mets starter Jose Quintana needed to complete seven innings.

“I threw some bad pitches,” the righthander said bluntly when asked what had gone awry.  

Nola battled through some September struggles last season but righted himself. “I’ve just got to eliminate the big inning,” he said when asked what he’s learned from that experience. “That fifth really got away from me. But I’m going to keep doing what I usually do and try to finish as best I can. That’s really all I can do. Flush this one and get ready for my next outing in Milwaukee.

What made Nola’s Friday the 13^th outing even more of a stroll through the Twilight Zone was that he didn’t allow a hit to any of the first dozen batters he faced. He then gave up six hits to the next seven Mets hitters in two identical sets: single-single-homer (to Francisco Alavarez) followed after one out by single-single-homer (to Brandon Nimmo).

“I left some bad pitches over the plate,” he said. “Two hanging curve balls. The curve ball to Alavrez popped right out of my hand.”

And, that quickly, he was gone. His final line: 4.1 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 W, 7 K. In his last two outings, Nola’s earned run average has jumped from 3.29 to 3.62.

“It was command,” catcher J.T. Realmuto said. “I felt like it was pretty good early in the game, throwing the ball pretty much where he wanted. And then he probably went five straight batters not throwing the ball where we were wanting it, just kind of missing spots. Against a team like that, when you don’t pitch with location, they’re going to make you pay.

The problem, of course, is that this is the second straight start in which lack of command was cited as the reason for Nola’s ineffectiveness. And how does that old saying go?

Once is an accident, twice is a coincidence, thrice is a pattern. . .

At the same time, a case could be made that back on that British Summer Time evening of June 9 these two teams were also moving on precisely opposite tracks.

The Phillies had the best record in the National League. The Mets were a battered, tattered mess. They were 28-36. They were 16.5 games out. Owner Steve Cohen was already fielding questions about whether his team would be sellers at the deadline.

What has happened since their international rendezvous is Reminder No. 7,680 of how long the baseball season really is and how quickly dramatically things can change.

The Phils were still firmly in command of their own destiny when the Mets arrived at Citizens Bank Park on Friday night. But the visitors had gone 52-30 since clearing Customs, the second-best record in baseball in that span. If the season had ended Friday, they would have made the playoffs. As a result, with the Phillies still chasing homefield advantage throughout the postseason, both teams had something tangible at stake in this ancient rivalry. Especially since the teams just started a stretch during which they’ll meet seven times in 10 games.

The Phillies still have the inside track to claim homefield advantage throughout the postseason, but the Mets announced that they won’t go away easily, that they could see the Phillies again in October, with a convincing 11-3 win in front of a sellout crowd of 44,607.

They’re now seven games behind with 15 left to play. The Phillies Magic Number to clinch the division remains stuck at 9.

From the home team’s perspective, the storyline was that starter Aaron Nola sailed through the first four innings before being shelled for six runs on six hits, including two homers, while recording just one out in the fifth.

But it’s also worth noting that the Phillies vaunted lineup, which was nearly back to full strength with the return of designated hitter Kyle Schwarber (one game, left elbow contusion) and catcher J.T. Realmuto (four games, left knee contusion), did little against New York lefthander Jose Quintana, who came in with a 4.09 ERA. In his seven innings he allowed just a double to Bryce Harper and infield singles to Johan Rojas and Schwarber. He didn’t walk a batter.

“He threw strikes,” manager Rob Thomson said. “And I don’t want to take anything away from his outing, because he pitched well. But we hit a lot of balls hard at people. So I thought our at bats were fine. We just had nothing to show for it. But he threw strikes and they played really good defense.

Thomson wasn’t wrong. The Phillies hit five line drives with exit velocities above 95 miles an hour that were caught by Mets outfielders and a sixth that clocked in at 94.6. Two of them were off the bat of Realmuto.

 “That’s just the game of baseball,” he said. “Sometimes you can put a good swing on it, do everything right and go back to the dugout and put your catcher’s gear on. Just keep having good at bats, keep swinging at strikes.”

Realmuto made a funny when asked how his knee felt. “It felt good for about four innings and then it took a drastic turn,” he said with a sly smile. “The knee felt great but, obviously, the game didn’t go the way I wanted it to.”

The final missing starter, third baseman Alec Bohm (left hand strain), will begin a rehab assignment along with infielder Edmundo Sosa (back spasms) Saturday at Triple-A Lehigh Valley. He’ll play third, DH on Sunday and, if all goes well, be activated when the Phillies open a three-game series in Milwaukee on Monday. Sosa will play in the field both games, but isn’t eligible to come off the IL until Tuesday.

Realistically, though, neither Bohm’s bat or line drives that landed for hits was likely to make a difference Friday night. It was the third time in their last four games the Phillies have scored three or fewer runs.

“There are few obvious, outward signs of what turned the Mets around. Before departing London, their run differential was minus-33. It was plus-92 since going into this series, but there were no headline-grabbing roster moves that would account for that. It could be as simple as a good team getting off to a slow start and then getting hot in order to reach the level its talent and payroll suggest. Or it could be Grimace. In their second game after returning from overseas, the purple McDonald’s mascot threw out a first pitch at Citi Field and the team has been on a roll ever since. Nah, that’s probably just a coincidence. But Mets fans are lovin’ it.

Sorry. Couldn’t resist.

“They’re playing good right now,” Nola said. “They’ve got a good squad. They get timely hits and have big innings.”

Added Realmuto: “This was a big game for us. This is a very important series for us. Really every series the rest of the year is. Every game seems a little more magnified now. It’s just kind of the way we lost, just going out there and getting our butts kicked. That’s never fun. And in a game of this magnitude, it’s definitely frustrating.”  

UP NEXT: The Phillies waited until after Friday night’s game to make the expected announcement that LHP Kolby Allard will be recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to start against the Mets in the middle game of the series. So it will be RHP Luis Severino (10-6, 3.74) vs. Allard (2-0, 3.50) Saturday at 4:05 p.m. and LHP David Peterson (9-2, 2.98) vs. LHP Cristopher Sánchez (10-9, 3.33) Sunday at 1:35 p.m.

The Phillies will wait until Saturday to announce the corresponding roster move that allows them to add Allard.

Wilson started at third base after Kyle Schwarber was scratched from the initial lineup with the elbow contusion he suffered Tuesday night. Bryce Harper moved to DH and Kody Clemens slid across the diamond to first base. Batting with two outs and runners on the corners in the sixth inning of a tie game, Wilson made soft contact on a 97 mph sinker in on his hands and it reached no man’s land between the mound and third base. He beat out the infield single and the Phillies beat the Rays, 3-2.

The Phils have won nine of 11 games, 14 of their last 18, and at 88-58 are farther over .500 than they’ve been all season.

“What can I say? It all seems like the best thing in the world when you’re on the best team in baseball with the best record in baseball and best teammates in baseball,” said Jose Alvarado, who pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning, his third in a row. “It all feels so nice. I’m just proud of everything we’ve been doing and the results we’ve been getting.”

By retaking the lead in the bottom of the sixth, the Phillies’ offense helped Zack Wheeler to his 15th win. Wheeler is 15-6 with a 2.60 ERA and National League-best 0.97 WHIP through 29 starts.

The Phillies’ ace has, at most, three more starts in the regular season but the final one lines up for Game 161 or 162, which would be meaningless if the Phillies clinch their playoff position prior. If they do, Wheeler is more likely to make an abbreviated start that final weekend.

Unfortunately for Wheeler, it could be another Cy Young runner-up season, just like 2021 when he lost out to Corbin Burnes despite pitching 46 more innings. Chris Sale (16-3, 2.38) has been every bit as dominant as Wheeler, going 16 straight starts without allowing more than two runs. He also has the lifetime achievement narrative on his side as a 35-year-old who finished in the top five of Cy Young voting six straight seasons from 2013-18 without ever winning one. Wheeler will need Sale to get lit up to jump him in the race.

Both Sale and Wheeler should also receive mid-ballot MVP votes. Shohei Ohtani, Francisco Lindor and Marcell Ozuna will likely finish 1-2-3 but the whole field is open beyond them, and both starting pitchers rank inside the Top 10 in the National League in Wins Above Replacement (hitters included).

Nick Castellanos staked the Phillies to an early lead with a two-run homer in the bottom of the first, his 20th. A few hours earlier, Rays manager Kevin Cash walked over to him during batting practice to apologize for Edwin Uceta intentionally hitting him with a pitch after the Phillies scored five runs on Uceta in the eighth inning Tuesday night. Uceta was suspended three games by MLB and immediately began serving it Wednesday. Castellanos was hit again in the eighth inning Wednesday by Rays reliever Kevin Kelly but there didn’t appear to be any intent and there was no more drama.

“Cash came over to me when I was hitting with (son) Liam and apologized for it, said all the right things and sounded sincere about it,” Castellanos said. “I think it’s awesome that they recognized there was foul play, not just the cliche, ‘Oh, I don’t know why he’s upset.’ I have respect for Cash for being honest and sticking up. There’s a right way to play the game and there’s a wrong way to play the game. Just admitting that is all I can ask for, and now it’s just moving forward.”

Pitching with the early lead built by Castellanos, Wheeler wiggled his way out of trouble in the second, third and fourth innings.

Eight of his first nine pitches in the second were outside the strike zone, leading to two walks and a run. He nearly got through the inning without allowing a run but nine-hole hitter Taylor Walls singled one in with two outs. Wheeler then allowed a leadoff triple and leadoff double in the third and fourth but neither scored, nor did Brandon Lowe after a one-out walk in the fifth.

Bryson Stott had a lot to do with that. He made a quick transition from glove to throwing hand to nail Jonathan Aranda at the plate with one out and the infield in during the fourth inning. Everything about the play was textbook and Stott needed to be as efficient as he was because Aranda still nearly beat the tag. Aranda gave Wheeler more trouble than anyone else Wednesday, walking, doubling and homering. Carlos Estevez retired him on one pitch to start the top of the ninth.

Matt Strahm pitched a scoreless seventh inning, lowering his ERA to 2.06. Alvarado has gone seven in a row without allowing a run. He’s trending up at an important time in a bullpen that already has four others — Strahm, Jeff Hoffman, Orion Kerkering and Estevez — pitching lights-out.

The Phillies are off Thursday and should have both Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto back Friday to begin a three-game home series against the Mets, who have moved a half-game ahead of the Braves for the final NL wild-card spot. The Phils play the Mets seven times in their final 16 games and all of them will be huge.

“I thought we played three very complete baseball games,” Castellanos said. “I also liked how everybody did something to contribute each night, it wasn’t one guy that carried the torch, we won as a team.”

Schwarber tried to hit in the cage and the injury was “still affecting his swing a little bit,” manager Rob Thomson said.

“He’s feeling better but it’s just a precaution, we took him out. He’ll be back Friday,” Thomson said.

Both Schwarber and catcher J.T. Realmuto are on track to the lineup Friday for the Phillies’ series opener against the Mets. Realmuto has been out since fouling a ball off his left knee last Friday in Miami.

Alec Bohm continues to progress slowly from a left hand strain. The Phillies tried to have him swing with a regular bat on Tuesday but he was still unable to do so without feeling pain.

“He can swing fine with a short bat,” Thomson said. “We’ll still try to get a regular bat in his hand today, but he’ll do all of his non-game activities, take groundballs, run, throw, hit in the cage.”

The Bohm injury will be a concern until he’s back and looking like himself at the plate. He’s such an important piece of the Phillies’ offense and the bottom hand is so important to a player’s swing. Bohm’s been out since August 29 and his IL stint is backdated to September 3, but he probably won’t be ready when first eligible to return Friday. The Phillies want to see him swing pain-free in the cage or in batting practice on consecutive days. With just 17 games left, there isn’t a ton of time for him to regain his midseason form at the plate.

Left fielder Austin Hays is still moving slowly and taking things one day at a time as he deals with a kidney infection. It’s an experience unlike any he’s had and fatigue has been a big factor. He figures to miss most, if not all of September.

Infielder Edmundo Sosa (back spasms) should be back on Monday in Milwaukee.

“No,” Thomson said Wednesday when asked if he was worried about the timing of these injuries with the NLDS beginning in 3½ weeks, “because I think J.T. will be back Friday, Schwarber will be back Friday, Sosa will just be the 10 days. So we’re getting healthy and I like where we’re at.”

The Phillies have rolled along despite it, winning 18 of their last 25 games. They entered Wednesday’s series finale against the Rays with the best record in baseball at 87-58, a game better than the Dodgers along with the tiebreaker, making it a de facto two-game lead.

On Tuesday, it was Cal Stevenson.

These Lehigh Valley IronPigs are sure making an impact on the National League playoff race.

Stevenson came off the bench with runners on second and third and one out in an eventful bottom of the eighth inning Tuesday night against the Rays and smashed a game-winning two-run double on a 2-2 count against Edwin Uceta.

It propelled the Phillies to a 9-4 win, their second late victory in a row over the Rays. They won via walk-off Monday night when Kennedy walked with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to load the bases and Clemens singled in the winning run.

Kennedy had another big plate appearance Tuesday, singling in Stevenson with two outs for additional insurance. It extended the inning for Trea Turner, who hit his second two-run homer of the game to break it open.

The inning got even crazier from there. Bryce Harper doubled to the opposite field and Uceta’s first pitch to Nick Castellanos was a 96 mph sinker to the left hip.

Castellanos immediately pointed and walked toward Uceta, removed his elbow guard and had to be held back by home plate umpire John Libka. From the other side, Harper also took exception and approached the mound from second base. The benches cleared and at one point a fuming Harper was surrounded by a handful of Rays, but no punches were thrown by either side.

Uceta was ejected.

Just 10 days ago, all three of Clemens, Stevenson and Kennedy were at Triple A Lehigh Valley. Clemens was called up on September 1 when rosters expanded from 26 to 28, Stevenson came up on September 5 when Austin Hays was placed on the injured list with a kidney infection and Kennedy came up a day later when Alec Bohm went on the IL with a left hand strain.

All the pieces matter and they’ve sure mattered this week for a banged-up team without Bohm, Hays, J.T. Realmuto, Edmundo Sosa and maybe now Kyle Schwarber. Schwarber set the major-league record in the first inning with his 14th leadoff home run of the season but exited in the fourth with elbow discomfort. The injury may have occurred on a dive back to first base on a pickoff attempt after his third-inning walk.

The top three spots in the Phillies’ order — Schwarber (then Kennedy), Turner and Harper — combined to go 9-for-14 with three homers and three doubles.

Harper’s home run drought has reached 119 plate appearances but he’s been extremely productive during it, hitting .337/.410/.471.

The Phillies took leads in each of the first three innings but starter Ranger Suarez was unable to protect all three. He was knocked around, allowing a career-high 12 hits over 5⅓ innings. He also allowed eight balls in play over 100 mph. These weren’t cheapies.

Suarez has pitched with diminished velocity in his last two starts. His sinker has averaged 90.9 mph for the season but was 89.9 on Tuesday and 88.9 last Thursday in Miami. It matters because it’s the pitch he throws the most. Suarez threw 45% sinkers against the Rays.

The sound of the contact increased by the batter in the top of the sixth but manager Rob Thomson tried to get his lefty through two more hitters atop Tampa Bay’s lineup. It didn’t work out with Cristopher Morel tripling and Jonathan Aranda walking on a full count.

Cristopher Sanchez has excelled over his last five starts, has a 3.33 ERA for the year and if the season ended today, he might start ahead of Suarez in a playoff series. There are still three weeks before that will come into play but Suarez’ velocity and the overall crispness of his stuff will be closely monitored by the Phillies all month. He has three starts left.

Orion Kerkering relieved Suarez with one out and a man on third base in a tie game and continued his stellar season with a strikeout and dribbler in front of the plate fielded by Garrett Stubbs. Kerkering has a 2.06 ERA on the season. Matt Strahm (2.10) pitched a scoreless seventh. Their stinginess kept the game where it was ahead of the fateful bottom of the eighth.

The Phillies are 87-58 with 17 games to play. They’ve won 18 of their last 25 and will end the night with the best record in baseball since they have the tiebreaker over the Dodgers. All of these wins are crucial for home-field advantage because the Dodgers’ remaining schedule is mostly a cakewalk with nine of their final 12 against the Marlins and Rockies.

But after walking and scoring in the bottom of the third inning, he didn’t come back out for his third plate appearance. Buddy Kennedy pinch-hit.

Schwarber exited with left elbow discomfort. After the game, manager Rob Thomson called it a contusion/hyperextension of the elbow. It happened on a dive back to first base on a pickoff attempt by Rays right-hander Taj Bradley in the bottom of the third.

Thomson said he isn’t concerned about the injury and has Schwarber penciled into the lineup Wednesday night, though the Phillies will check on him once he gets to the ballpark in the early afternoon.

The Phillies are more than a little banged up. Alec Bohm (left hand strain), Austin Hays (kidney infection) and Edmundo Sosa (back spasms) are on the injured list. J.T. Realmuto is out until at least the weekend because of fluid buildup in his knee from fouling a ball off it last Friday. Closer Carlos Estevez was struck by a line drive Monday night in the same spot of the knee as Realmuto. Bryce Harper’s elbow and wrist have been barking all summer.

This would be a tough time to lose Schwarber if anything lingers. He’s been on fire in September and was just named National League Player of the Week. He’s hit .452 over his last eight games with three doubles, seven home runs, 13 RBI and 11 runs scored.

Every healthy position player on the Phillies’ 40-man roster is in the major leagues at this point. The next man up, if Schwarber is forced to miss time, could be Scott Kingery, who’s hit .278 with 23 home runs, 64 RBI and an .830 OPS in 463 plate appearances at Triple A this season.

With two outs and two on in the bottom of the ninth inning of a tie game Monday night, Phillies manager Rob Thomson called the number of Buddy Kennedy, a reserve infielder from nearby Millville, NJ who grew up a Phils fan along with childhood buddy Mike Trout. 

Kennedy had taken all of two plate appearances as a Phillie, striking out and walking at the end of Sunday’s blowout loss in Miami. Despite being a local kid, he’s not exactly a familiar face or household name. 

Yet spontaneously, almost in unison, a Citizens Bank Park crowd of 39,511 began a chant as Kennedy stepped to the plate. 

“BUDDY, BUDDY, BUDDY…”

Ball one. 

“BUDDY, BUDDY, BUDDY…”

Strike one. 

When ball three wasn’t particularly close, the chant grew louder. Nick Castellanos said two weeks ago that it felt like October was around the corner and the decibel level Monday night matched. 

Kennedy drew a full-count walk and the crowd erupted, almost an anticipatory celebration a la Brett Myers vs. CC Sabathia. 

Up came Kody Clemens. 

And the chant followed. 

“KODY, KODY, KODY…”

Line-drive, lefty-on-lefty base-hit between first and second to walk the Phillies off, 2-1 over the Rays. 

“Growing up a Phillies fan, being on the fan side of it and chanting all my life, and then being in the box,” Kennedy began, “I was calm and collected when I got in there and then I heard the Buddy chants and was like, ‘OK, dude, you just gotta relax, be in the moment.’ 

“It was something very special and I’ll always remember it for the rest of my life.”

Clemens and Kennedy picked up three of their teammates. 

Closer Carlos Estevez has been lights out but allowed a game-tying leadoff homer in the top of the ninth to Brandon Lowe. 

Johan Rojas nearly made a spectacular robbery but, despite a perfect reaction and timely jump, the ball plopped out of his glove and over the wall. 

And then in the bottom of the ninth, Bryce Harper thought he’d walked the Phillies off with a leadoff homer and admired his work. Problem was, it didn’t have enough height and caromed off the wall in right field. Not hustling out of the box, Harper was held to a single. Thomson said that before he could approach the face of the franchise, Harper walked over to him to apologize. 

“Down here on the field it’s like, yeah it’s a win, but it’s a huge party, everybody’s so excited,” Kennedy said. “Harper came to me after, all the guys said ‘Great at-bat, you did your job.’ I passed the bat to Kody and he came through.“

Clemens has had a flair for the dramatic in the 79 games he’s played as a Phillie with multiple walk-off hits and a game-tying ninth-inning homer. Ironically, he’s been perhaps more impactful than since-traded reliever Gregory Soto, the headliner of the January 2023 deal that brought Clemens to Philadelphia from Detroit. 

Thomson and president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski have consistently called Clemens a big-leaguer who’s been a victim of circumstance on a crowded roster. He’s an extra man, but one who has demonstrated value. He was recalled on September 1 when rosters expanded from 26 to 28.

“It was awesome being on deck hearing Buddy’s name,” Clemens said. “I was getting chills for him. And for them to just roll it over to me was really cool, too. 

“There’s been plenty of times when I’ve gotten the short end of the stick. If you pout or go down to Triple A and sulk, you’re not gonna be able to come back up here. I stayed straight, had a good mindset, grinded my way and hoped for another opportunity where I can slide in here. Obviously the team is stacked and there’s a ton of guys on the roster who aren’t going to be moving anywhere but I’m just super happy to be here. I love playing for the Phillies, this team, this fanbase.”

The Phils’ other run came on a solo shot from Kyle Schwarber to open the bottom of the sixth inning. The Phillies had been no-hit to that point. It was Schwarber’s 34th of the year and sixth in seven September games. 

Cristopher Sanchez made another terrific start with six scoreless innings. He has established himself over the last year and change as one of the best and most consistent pitchers in the National League. His 3.33 ERA ranks fifth. He’s pitched a career-high 165 innings and projects to finish north of 180. 

“I’ve been preparing for this. This is not a coincidence, it’s a product of hard work,” he said Monday night.

The Phillies are 86-58, up seven games on the Mets and eight on the Braves with 18 to play. 

With a Dodgers loss, they’ll wake up Tuesday morning back atop MLB’s overall standings. 

Kennedy expects to wake up to a text from Trout. 

“I’ll probably get something from him either tonight or tomorrow,” he said. “He’s definitely gonna see it and be like oh, let’s go!

“Just a moment you can never take back or write.”

He timed his leap perfectly.

Brandon Lowe’s loud, dangerous fly ball found its way into the centerfielder’s glove, but only for a split-second before popping out and over the short wall for a game-tying, ninth-inning home run.

Rojas, who appeared to think he made the play, gazed at his glove in shock. The crowd of 39,511 quickly transitioned from cheers to groans. Second baseman Bryson Stott put his hands on his head and closer Carlos Estevez crouched in disbelief.

A half-inning later, none of it mattered. Kody Clemens picked up Estevez and Rojas and walked the Phillies off with a lefty-on-lefty, bases-loaded single in a 2-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Phillies filled the sacks on a single by Bryce Harper, a two-out infield single from Bryson Stott and a full-count walk by reserve infielder Buddy Kennedy in just his third plate appearance with the team.

The Phillies improved to 86-58 with 18 games left. They entered the night a game behind the Dodgers for the top record in the National League and continued to apply pressure. They also extended their lead to 3½ games over the idle Brewers for the 2-seed, which comes with a bye in the wild-card round. The teams meet next Monday through Wednesday and the Phillies would love to land in Milwaukee with a lead greater than the length of that three-game series.

It was a stellar night for the Phils’ pitching staff. Cristopher Sanchez, Orion Kerkering and Jeff Hoffman kept the Rays off the board through eight innings with no Tampa Bay player reaching scoring position until the top of the eighth.

Sanchez, who came up through the Rays’ system before the Phillies acquired him in November 2019, has a 3.33 ERA in a career-high 165 innings.

Despite the heavy workload, he’s shown no signs of fatigue, pitching to a 2.14 ERA in his last five starts. The Rays were no match for his changeup on Monday night.

The Phillies needed that sort of performance from Sanchez because the offensive futility from Sunday’s 10-1 clunker in Miami carried into the first game of this week’s homestand. The Phils had no hits until Kyle Schwarber blasted a solo home run to right-center to begin the bottom of the sixth. It was Schwarber’s 34th of the season and six in seven games this month.

The Phillies’ lineup is depleted without Alec Bohm, J.T. Realmuto, Austin Hays and Edmundo Sosa. Realmuto might be back this weekend and Sosa might be back Monday, but Bohm and Hays could remain on the injured list even when they’re eligible to return. Bohm still hasn’t been able to swing without pain and the Phillies need him to do so on consecutive days before bringing him back. Realmuto is still dealing with fluid in his left knee after fouling a pitch off it on Friday. Hays has a kidney infection that could sideline him throughout most of September. Sosa is experiencing back spasms.

Without them, the Phillies started six left-handed hitters on Monday: Schwarber, Harper, Stott, Brandon Marsh, Clemens and Garrett Stubbs. It makes them more susceptible against southpaws with Weston Wilson the lone threat off the bench, only increasing the importance of Clemens’ huge at-bat against the Rays.

Johnson was optioned back to Triple A on Monday after allowing nine runs in 2⅓ innings in his major-league debut in Miami. The Phillies recalled reliever Tyler Gilbert, who is likely just holding a roster spot until Kolby Allard can return to the big-league roster.

Allard is first eligible to be called back up from Triple A on Tuesday but the Phillies will probably wait to make the move until Saturday, the next time they need a fifth starter. They couldn’t bring him back over the last two weeks because a pitcher optioned to the minor leagues must remain there for 15 days.

The Phillies’ upcoming off-day Thursday would allow them to skip the No. 5 spot entirely in this rotation cycle but they will opt against it. The health and effectiveness in October of their top four starters is the bigger priority and using a fifth starter this weekend gets everyone an extra day.

Manager Rob Thomson did not confirm on Monday that it would be Allard starting Saturday, though that was likely just to avoid announcing anything prematurely. He’s already said that Allard has pitched the best in that rotation spot of late and that he would prefer not to do a bullpen game.

Allard has a 3.50 ERA in four appearances (three starts) with the Phillies. The last two were wins in which he allowed three runs over 10 innings without a walk.

Prior to Johnson on Sunday, the Phillies used Phillips in Toronto and he gave up six runs, departing with two outs in the first inning. Before that it was Walker, who allowed six runs on a career-high 13 hits to the Astros in a 10-0 Phillies loss.

Walker has since moved to the bullpen as an $18 million mop-up man. The first two relief appearances haven’t been too inspiring — five innings, five runs, two homers, nine baserunners and few swinging strikes.

The No. 5 spot comes up for the Phillies three more times this season — September 14, 19 and 24.

J.T. Realmuto was out of the lineup Monday for the third straight game after fouling a ball off his left knee in his second at-bat Friday night in Miami. He was diagnosed with a left knee contusion and has dealt with swelling and fluid in the knee.

The Phillies do not expect their starting catcher back until the second part of this week’s homestand Friday through Sunday against the Mets. The Phils host the Tampa Bay Rays Monday through Wednesday and are off Thursday.

“The swelling’s coming down,” manager Rob Thomson said. “I would think we’ll probably see him in the Mets series. It could be sooner but we’ll see. We want to make sure the fluid’s out of his knee. I want to see him catch a bullpen. We thought maybe there was a chance he’d catch a bullpen today, we thought it might be knocked out so we were hoping he could get back there but it hasn’t all quite gotten out.

“He still needs to do some work.”

Alec Bohm

Bohm has been out since suffering a left hand strain against the Braves on August 29. The Phillies initially thought he’d avoid the injured list but the inflammation and pain didn’t subside as quickly as they hoped and they placed him on the IL on September 6, retroactive to September 3.

Bohm took groundballs on the field at Citizens Bank Park on Monday afternoon, but that’s not the issue. The issue is swinging without pain. He is eligible to return from the injured list on Friday to face the Mets but that’s still TBD.

“He’ll do some dry swings and hopefully we’ll get to some tee and toss today,” Thomson said.

Bohm will need to swing without pain on back-to-back days before the Phillies return him from the IL.

“I’m not sure how much time it’s gonna take but I’m not concerned about him having enough time to hit in the postseason,” Thomson said when asked if he thought Bohm would have enough reps to regain his form at the plate.

Austin Hays

Hays is dealing with a kidney infection and flew back to Philadelphia for additional testing during the Phillies’ road trip to Toronto and Miami last week. His IL stint was backdated to September 2 but it does not sound like he’ll be back when first eligible.

Hays worked out and threw at Citizens Bank Park on Sunday as the Phillies concluded their trip.

“He feels better but he said his legs still feel, he called it heavy,” Thomson said. “He’s still dealing with some effects of the kidney infection but I think he’s getting better. It’s probably gonna a few days. I don’t know how many. It’s gonna be a while.”

Hays was the bat the Phillies acquired at the trade deadline but he hasn’t made much of an impact, playing in only 19 games. He missed two weeks in August with a hamstring strain and it looks like he’ll miss the bulk of September, as well.

“It gives other people an opportunity to play and do their thing,” Thomson said.

Nick Castellanos, Brandon Marsh, Johan Rojas, Weston Wilson and Cal Stevenson are the healthy outfielders on the Phillies’ active roster. Kyle Schwarber also started two games in left field during the road trip to get Castellanos and Bryce Harper off their feet.

Edmundo Sosa

The least concerning of the Phillies’ injuries, Sosa is expected to return when first eligible next Monday in Milwaukee. He went on the IL with back spasms over the weekend.

Rafael Marchan

The Phillies’ third-string catcher is on the injured list at Triple A with a left shoulder impingement he suffered sliding, but he’s expected back for the IronPigs on Tuesday.

Marchan, if healthy, would have been the obvious call-up over the weekend with Realmuto sidelined. Instead, Aramis Garcia had his contract selected.

The 101-win Orioles and the 100-win Dodgers were also dismissed in that round. A suspicion took root that the new playoff format, which awards a first-round bye to the four best teams, might not be an advantage after all. Days off are a good thing. Too much of a good thing, though, can lead to lost rhythm and momentum.

“I’m not going to say that’s an excuse for us,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said in the mediate wake of being bounced by the Phillies. “But it’s not ideal … It’s hard, you know, when you’re in an everyday sport. I never liked two days off. I think one is plenty. But you know what? It is what it is, and we gotta figure it out.”

With exactly three weeks remaining on this season’s schedule, Phillies manager Rob Thomson is trying to figure it out.

The Phillies haven’t clinched anything yet. But even after being drubbed, 10-1, by the Marlins on Sunday at loan Depot Park, they’re neck-and-neck with the Dodgers for baseball’s best record and three up on the Brewers to avoid dirtying their hands by having to play a wild card series. They have more Ws than the Yankees, currently the American League’s winningest team.

That means there’s a pretty good chance that the Phillies will be all dressed up with no place to go between the regular season finale September 29 in Washington and the start of the Division Series games on October 5.

“I think you’d have intrasquad games,” Thomson said, thinking out loud, Sunday morning in Miami. “I’m talking about bringing extra people here to make it a little more realistic. But, other than that, I’m not buying into that bye teams don’t have as good an opportunity to go deeper in the playoffs. I think it’s just been coincidence, to tell the truth.”

It’s not out of the question that some of the organization’s minor leaguers could be invited to hang around once they’re done for the year to portray the to-be-named opposition.

What about inviting fans into the park to create a more realistic atmosphere?

“I wouldn’t mind it. But that’s a decision somebody else makes,” the manager said. “We’re not there, so we haven’t really discussed it. But that’s just going through my head. You’d run the scoreboard. Just like a regular game, as far as I’m concerned.”

Once they could pipe in crowd noise like teams did during the pandemic.

Would the Phanatic be there?

“No, he needs a break,” Thomson said with a smile.

Seriously, though, the more games the Phillies end up with, the bigger their potential postseason reward. Kind of like the more points you earn by shooting tin ducks on the carnival midway, the bigger kewpie doll you can take home.

The first rung is winning the division.

The second is having one of the two best records to avoid a possible wild card ambush.

The third is having the league’s best won-lost ledger, which can be cashed in for homefield advantage through the division and championship series rounds.

And, finally, the big enchilada. The most wins overall earns the lucky recipient the homefield edge in the World Series.

Thompson is shooting for the jackpot. And why not? The Phils are 47-24 (.662) at Citizens Bank Park this year and 38-34 (.528) everywhere else. “I think they’re all important,” he said. “They really are. That one game, if you have a chance to get the home field throughout, that one game in the World Series could really be a difference maker.”

At the same time, there are strong competing currents that must be reckoned with.

“It’s all about health,” the manager said, repeating a mantra he’s intoned over and over. “Any type of ache or pain, the red flag really goes up at this time of year and you try to knock it out. So health is what I’m really concerned about the most.

“And then once we get to the last couple games, there are certain things I look at statistics-wise for each individual player. A guy could hit .300 or get 100 RBI. Whatever that special number is. I look at that as well.”

Of course, sometimes those goals contradict each other.

“That’s the balance you’ve got to strike. Or try to, anyway,” Thomson said. “It’s difficult. But as we get there – if we get there – you’ve got to try to make the best decision you can.”

Subscribe anywhere you get your podcasts:
Apple Podcasts | Youtube Music | Spotify | Stitcher | Art19 | RSS | Watch on YouTube

A couple hours later, with several family members, his fiancé and his agent sitting expectantly in the stands, Johnson gave up a home run to the second batter he faced, Marlins third baseman Connor Norby.

Cue the spooky organ music. When Maddux made his first big league appearance in 1986 – you guessed it – he gave up a home run to the second batter he faced, Houston’s Billy Hatcher.

In no way is that a prediction that Johnson will win 355 games in his career or have a plaque in Cooperstown someday. It’s just a gentle reminder not to rush to premature judgments, especially for a rookie with only three career starts above Double-A on his resume.

Having said that, his chance to make a good first impression couldn’t have gone much worse. He lasted 2.1 innings. He gave up 9 runs on eight hits and 3 walks. Six straight batters had reached base before Max Lazar finally came out of the bullpen with one out and a runner on second.

Pair that with an offense that didn’t get its first hit off Marlins starter Edward Cabrera until the sixth and you have all the necessary ingredients for a butt ugly 10-1 getaway day beatdown.

It was the Phillies second straight loss to last-place Miami after winning six straight and 11 of 13. They still lead the Braves and Mets by 7 games in the National League East with 19 games left to play. Their Magic Number is 13.

After he came out of the game, Rob Thomson had a heart-to-heart chat with the 25-year-old rookie righthander in the dugout.

“I was just telling him that he’s got good stuff,” the manager said. “Because he does. And to keep battling. Everybody goes through these types of things, you know?”

Said Johnson: “It meant a lot to me. Hearing those words of encouragement was really nice. I wish it had gone a little better. But it was a really cool experience. I was happy my family was able to be here and I’m grateful for the opportunity.

“There were a little bit of nerves. I’ve got some things to work on.”

Continued Thomson: “I just think he was up in the hitting zone. His stuff’s okay. He might have been nervous the first couple hitters. And the other thing is we have to check and see that he’s not (tipping his pitches). I felt bad for him. A couple hitters he got behind. You can pitch up, but you’d better pitch up up. And he wasn’t getting the ball there.

“It was his first start in the big leagues. I’m sure at some point he’s going to get another one. He’s going to pitch in the big leagues again.”

No final decision has been made, but the best bet would be that it won’t be Saturday, the next time a fifth starter will be needed. All indications point to lefthander Kolby Allard getting the ball against the Mets that day; Allard will become eligible to be recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Tuesday.

Part of that speculation is based on Allard’s four years of big league service time and part on the fact that the Phillies are monitoring the workload of Johnson, who had Tommy John surgery two seasons ago.

Even if Johnson had pitched better, it might not have changed the outcome. Cabrera, who was scratched from his scheduled start Friday because of what was described as migraine-like symptoms, was a real headache for the Phillies hitters.

Coming in, he was 1-2 with a 4.70 career earned run average against the Phils. Sunday he pitched seven shutout innings, allowing just three hits while striking out six.

“He threw strikes,” Thomson said. “He gets in trouble when he doesn’t throw strikes, but he was getting ahead in this game.”

Said Bryce Harper: “He threw me a 3-2 horizontal about 17 inches. I mean, that’s a full plate. He was definitely tough.”

Subscribe anywhere you get your podcasts:
Apple Podcasts | Youtube Music | Spotify | Stitcher | Art19 | RSS | Watch on YouTube

“I think I said a couple days ago that, when I swing and miss, it’s going to hurt,” said Harper, who is dealing with elbow and wrist soreness. “You’re probably going to see that for the rest of the year. Just one of those things.”

In the seventh inning, he ripped a long fly ball to left that bounced off the top of the wall for a double. Another foot or so and it would have been a home run. That wouldn’t have changed the outcome of a 10-1 loss. But it would have been his first homer after a drought of 109 plate appearances.

“Man, I’ll take hits any way I can right now,” he said. “Obviously, home runs will come. I know it’s ben awhile. But I’ve been taking some good swings and getting some good results. So just got to keep going.

“We’ve just got to get going, keep going. This division ain’t close to being done. Obviously, there’s two good teams (Atlanta, New York) behind us. We’re going to play the Mets a couple times. We’ve got to keep rolling. We can’t really worry about the Magic Number or anything like that. We’ve got to keep grinding and stay as healthy as we can. But we still have to play the games.”

Yeah, about that …

The Phillies injured list continued to get longer Sunday.

Infielder Edmundo Sosa was placed on the 10-day injured list before the series finale against the Marlins. “When he was prepping to go into the cage (Saturday) he felt something in his back,” manager Rob Thomson said. “Then he went and did some hitting and felt it. And felt it again this morning.”

The Phillies used that roster spot to add righthander Seth Johnson, who made his Major League debut at loanDepot Park.

Third baseman Alec Bohm (hand) and outfielder Austin Hays (kidney infection) have been placed on the IL during this series. In addition, catcher J.T. Realmuto hasn’t played the last two games after fouling a pitch off his knee Friday night.

Realmuto said Sunday the swelling and soreness have improved dramatically. Thomson indicated he could return in another day or two.

With Harper at DH, the Phillies fielded a shuffled lineup Sunday. Kody Clemens was at first base in his place and regular DH Kyle Schwarber in left. Weston Wilson was at third and third string catcher Aramis Garcia behind the plate.

UP NEXT: The Phillies open a homestand Monday with a three-game series against the Rays. Tampa Bay has not announced who will start against LHP Cristopher Sanchez (10-9, 4.45) in the opener. It will be RHP Taj Bradley (6-10, 4.40) vs. LHP Ranger Suarez (12-6, 2.90) Tuesday and RHP Shane Baz (2-3, 3.27) vs. RHP Zack Wheeler (14-6, 2.59) Wednesday. All games start at 6:40 p.m.

Subscribe anywhere you get your podcasts:
Apple Podcasts | Youtube Music | Spotify | Stitcher | Art19 | RSS | Watch on YouTube

So, of course, Miami won 9-5 to end the Phillies winning streak Saturday at six.

There were a bunch of reasons for the unexpected outcome. Baseball’s inherent unpredictability is the most obvious. Like an offense that scored a season-high 16 runs Saturday doing little until it was too late Saturday. Like the decision to bring Taijuan Walker in to pitch in the seventh inning another.

But it all starts with the fact that Nola had a rare off day. He lasted 4.2 innings and was charged with 5 runs (4 earned) on 9 hits (including two homers) and 2 walks. It was his shortest and least effective outing since June 3 at Boston when he gave up 8 runs in 3.2 innings.

In the past, his line has occasionally been marred by one stinker of an inning surrounded by several 1-2-3 frames. That wasn’t the case this time. He retired the leadoff batter in the inning just once and consistently found himself pitching out of jams.

“I think just command of the baseball,” Rob Thomson said. “He missed the glove a lot. A lot more than he normally does. And he paid for it. They put a lot of pitches on him, had good at bats against him, too. I was trying to get him through five, but it just didn’t happen.”

Nola was unable to make an in-game adjustment. “Usually he does,” the manager said. “That’s kind of his forte. He figures it out. But it was just a lot of pitches and a lot of misses. You’re going to have days like that.”

Said Nola: “I was out of sync. I threw way too many pitches (101) and when I did get over the plate a little bit, they put some good swings on them and found some holes. It really stinks when you don’t finish five innings. It was just one of those weird days.”

Garrett Stubbs, who will be the Phillies regular catcher until J.T. Realmuto’s sore right knee recovers sufficiently for him to return to the lineup, provided most of the team’s offense Saturday. And he did it without hitting the ball out of the infield, which says a lot about the Phillies offense Saturday.

He led off the second by bunting to the first-base side of the mound for a hit. Not only that, he lit out for second when pitcher Darren McCaughan’s wild throw sailed into foul territory down the right field line. He slid safely into second, then picked himself up and slid into third after the throw from second baseman Otto Lopez rolled into left for the second error of the play.

Stubbs then slid home on a sacrifice fly by Kyle Schwarber to score one of the most unearned runs imaginable.

With Johan Rojas on third after a one-out triple in the fifth, Stubbs rolled a squeeze bunt down the line that was so well-placed that third baseman Connor Norby had no choice but to let the ball roll as Rojas scored and Stubbs crossed first.

Even with all that, the Phillies were still within striking distance going into the bottom of the seventh, down by three with six outs to go. At least they were until Thomson brought Taijuan Walker into the game in the bottom of the seventh.

Walker came off the injured list on August 13 and made four starts through August 28. In those games he was 0-3 with a 9.17 earned run average. Opponents batted .377 against him with a 1.124 OPS. After that game it was announced that he was being sent to the bullpen.

Before Saturday, he had made one relief appearance, giving up two runs in three mop-up innings. So he seemed like a curious choice to try to keep the Phillies in the game and, at any rate, it didn’t work out.

After getting the first out, Walker gave up a home run to Lopez, then walked Griffin Conine. Nick Fortas doubled to put runners on second and third. David Hensley hit a grounder to shortstop Trea Turner, who tried to cut off the run. But his throw got past Stubbs and, before the play was over, both Conine and Fortes had crossed the plate.

The Phillies scored twice in the top of the eighth. So if Walker – or another reliever – had been able to keep Miami off the broad in the bottom of the seventh, in theory at least that would have brought the Phils within one and who knows what might have happened then?

In Thomson’s mind, his only other option in that situation would have been Max Lazar. Jose Ruiz and Tanner Banks had already been in the game. He normally doesn’t use Carlos Estevez, Jeff Hoffman, Matt Strahm or Orion Kerkering when the team is trailing. He could have used Jose Alvarado, who is working his way back after leaving the team for personal reasons, but explained that since Alvarado pitched Friday that would have left him unavailable for Sunday.

And while he didn’t spell it out, he seemed to be saying that he wants to have as many bullpen options available to him as possible Sunday when righthander Seth Johnson makes his Major League debut.

Which left Walker. “It’s an adjustment for him,” Thomson said. “They hit a couple balls hard on pitches down the middle. Now, that inning before he came in was a quick inning on offense. He didn’t have a lot of time to get ready. Not to make an excuse, but I take that into account.

“It’s one of those things. Trial and error. We’ll see if he can adjust to that role.”

Honestly, at this point it’s hard to see what role Walker can contribute in for the rest of the season, hard to envision him even being on the postseason roster.

Then again, it would have been pretty hard to imagine the Phillies losing to the Marlins Saturday, either.

Subscribe anywhere you get your podcasts:
Apple Podcasts | Youtube Music | Spotify | Stitcher | Art19 | RSS | Watch on YouTube

It seemed too good to last. It was.

When righthander Seth Johnson makes his Major League debut against the Marlins on Sunday at loanDepot Park, he’ll become the fifth Phillies pitcher since the beginning of July – a full rotation’s worth – to make his first start of year. For a variety of reasons Michael Mercado, Tyler Phillips, Orion Kerkering and Tyler Phillips have all gotten assignments since then.

While all that was going on, Johnson was going about his business pitching for the Double-A Bowie Bay Sox in the Orioles organization. Then, at the trade deadline, things began to change for the 25-year-old when he was traded to the Phillies (along with another prospect, righthander Moises Chace) for reliever Gregory Soto.

Less than six weeks later, he’s in the big leagues.

“It’s unreal,” he said Saturday in the visitor’s clubhouse at loanDepot Park. “It really hasn’t set in yet.”

Said president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski: “When we acquired him, we didn’t necessarily anticipate he’d be starting for us at this time. But he’s a guy we did like. But he’s thrown the ball really well and put himself in a position to get a chance to start for us.”

Johnson made two starts at Double-A Reading, then was promoted to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. He made three starts for the IronPigs (going 2-0, 0.56) and now will be staring down the Marlins with his family (parents, step-mother, brother and his wife) in from North Carolina and his agent watching from the stands.

He’s so new to the organization that when Rob Thompson first saw him in the clubhouse, the manager wasn’t sure who he was. “Just looking at the tape, he looks good. Delivery is good. Stuff plays. So we’ll see what we’ve got,” Thompson said.

“There’s going to be some (nerves). There always is, for everybody. How you handle it and how you can get through it, clear your head and stay poised, sometimes that’s tough.”

On the other hand, the Marlins know very little about him, either. “Sure, I think it’s tough for hitters a lot of times,” Thomson added. “Especially the experienced guys. They have a memory bank and they put things away. They have a memory of what a guy’s stuff does and how they’ve approached him. When you see a guy for the first time it can be tough. So, hopefully, he’s got that going for him.”

Johnson, originally a first-round draft pick by the Rays in 2019, said he’s noticed a difference in philosophy between the Orioles and Phillies. “I think the big thing is that Baltimore is very data-based,” he said. “Here’s a nice blend of the numbers and baseball strategy. Kind of old school. And I’ve been really enjoying it so far. For me, it’s kind of simplified everything. Concentrating on basic concepts like moving the fastball around. Not worrying about pitch shapes all the time. Just going out here and trying to pitch.”

It remains to be seen how long Johnson sticks. One factor, of course, could be how well he performs Sunday. Another could be that Allard is legible to be recalled as early as Tuesday. And then there’s the fact that he underwent Tommy John surgery two years ago and the Phillies are still closely monitoring his workload.

Johnson will be opposed in the series finale by Marlins RHP Edward Cabrera (3-6, 5.33) with first pitch scheduled for 1:40 p.m.

Subscribe anywhere you get your podcasts:
Apple Podcasts | Youtube Music | Spotify | Stitcher | Art19 | RSS | Watch on YouTube

Several, in fact.

When the lineup was posted in the visitor’s clubhouse at loanDepot Park early Saturday afternoon, there was a new name listed among the available bench players: Catcher Aramis Ramirez. And there was one fewer pitcher in the bullpen: Righthander Nick Nelson.

The reason is that catcher J.T. Realmuto is still walking with a noticeable limp. He left Friday night’s game in the fourth inning after fouling a pitch off his left knee.

“He’s going to be a couple days,” manager Rob Thomson said. “He’s pretty sore, obviously. There’s a little bit of swelling in there. We’ve got to knock that out. So it’s going to be a few days.”

There is no indication at the moment that Realmuto will need to go on the injured list. Asked if that was a relief, the manager smiled. “Big time,” he said. “Big time.”

Garrett Stubbs was making a planned start Saturday, anyway, and will likely get the bulk of the playing time in Realmuto’s absence. Garcia, 31, has played in a total of 116 games over parts of four seasons with the Giants, A’s and Reds. In 74 games at Triple-A Lehigh Valley this season he was hitting .163 with 8 home runs and 25 RBI.

Rafael Marchan, who was called up earlier this season when Realmuto went on the IL with knee soreness followed by surgery, is on the IronPigs 60-day IL with a right hamate fracture.

When the dust settled, not only had the contract of Garcia been selected from Lehigh Valley but:

—Nelson had been designated for assignment, meaning the Phillies have 10 days to trade, release or get him through waivers.

—Infielder Rodolfo Castro was recalled from Triple-A and placed on the 60-day IL following surgery to repair the UCL in his right thumb.

—Righthander Jose Cuas was claimed on waivers from the Blue Jays and optioned to Lehigh Valley.

That flurry of activity came after Friday’s announcement that third baseman Alec Bohm had been placed in the injured list with a strained left hand and Thursday’s decision to put outfielder Austin Hays went on the IL with a kidney infection.

And there will be another move needed Sunday when righthander Seth Johnson is added to the roster to make his Major League debut against the Marlins.

Subscribe anywhere you get your podcasts:
Apple Podcasts | Youtube Music | Spotify | Stitcher | Art19 | RSS | Watch on YouTube

“There’s been a bunch of pitchers who have had good years,” he said Friday at loanDepot Park. “But Zack Wheeler, to me — and I’m obviously biased — has been so consistent over the years I’ve been here. His ability to come through in big games. Not just playoff games. When we’ve needed a win, or we needed to get a lot of innings to help the bullpen out, he’s done it. He’s done it every time.”

Not every time, maybe, but consistently enough that the conventional wisdom at the moment is that there are two top contenders for that particular piece of hardware, neck-and-neck, coming around the final turn and into the home stretch: Wheeler and Atlanta’s Chris Sale.

Sale might hold a razor-thin edge at the moment but there are three weeks and change left in the season and anything can still happen.

Wheeler continued to make his case Friday night in the Phillies’ 16-2 win over the Marlins. He allowed just two soft hits in six innings, striking out seven with one walk.

“He looked like he was on cruise control out there,” said shortstop Trea Turner.

The only run Wheeler allowed came in the fourth on an infield hit by Connor Norby, a walk to Jake Burger and a two-out grounder up the middle by Otto Lopez that caromed off second base and rolled into left for one of the stranger doubles you’ll ever see.

“He could have gone more,” Thomson said. “But I thought it was kind of silly to run him out for a seventh inning with that big of a lead.”

Wheeler’s now 14-6 with a 2.59 ERA in 28 starts. His WHIP is 0.96 and opponents are hitting .193 against him. He’s pitched 173⅔ innings, striking out 190.

Sale, whose next scheduled turn is against the Blue Jays on Sunday, is 16-3, 2.46 in 26 starts. His WHIP is 1.01 with a .218 opponent’s batting average. He’s struck out 206 in 160⅔ innings.

“It (winning a Cy Young) would mean a lot,” said Wheeler, who was edged out for the honor by Corbin Burns in 2021. “There’s some good competition that I’m going up against. At the same time, I’m just going out there trying to put up zeroes and hope for the best. And that’s all I can do. So I’m just going out there to compete every time and hopefully put our team in a spot to win.”

The Phillies have now won six straight and 11 of their last 13. They lead the second-place Braves and Mets in the National League East by 8 games. Their magic number is 14.

Less than two hours before the first pitch, the Marlins announced a pitching change. Their scheduled starter, righthander Edward Cabrera, had been scratched with “migraine-like symptoms.” Lefty Austin Kitchen got the ball instead.

That, uh, didn’t work out so well.

Five of the first six batters he faced in the top of the first reached base: Kyle Schwarber on a throwing error by first baseman Burger, Turner and Bryson Stott on grounders that barely eluded the glove of shortstop Xavier Edwards; J.T. Realmuto on a grounder that third baseman Norby couldn’t quite corral and a clean single by Bryce Harper.

Three scored.

In the second, it was more of the same. A double by Johan Rojas, an RBI single by Schwarber, a two-run homer by Turner, another double by Harper and a two-out base hit by Realmuto.

Four more scored. Or, to put it another way, in the middle of the second inning, the Marlins were only a run away from being allowed to use a position player to pitch because the score was so out of hand with 21 outs still to go.

That meant Wheeler had to work to stay in rhythm early.

“Those types of games are tough, but at the same time you’ve got to pitch and do well and figure it out,” he said. “I was just throwing the ball against the wall a few times. A little work with the weighted ball trying to stay loose. But I’ll take all the run support I can get.”

Before it was over, every Phillies position player got into the game. Every starter had a hit, including three each for Turner, Harper, Kody Clemens and Rojas. Turner and Schwarber homered. The 16 runs were the most the Phillies have scored all season, eclipsing the 14 they put up against the Giants on May 4.

And, yes, outfielder David Hensley made his pitching debut and mopped up the last two innings for the Marlins.

NEXT MAN DOWN

Realmuto left Friday night’s game in the fourth inning after fouling a pitch off his left knee in his previous at-bat. It was announced that he had suffered a contusion and would undergo further evaluation.

“He’s fine,” Thomson said postgame. “We’ll check him out (Saturday) but Stubby (Garrett Stubbs) was starting anyway. That was planned.”

That came hours after the announcement that third baseman Alec Bohm had been placed on the injured list with a strained left hand and a day after outfielder Austin Hays went on the IL with a kidney infection.

UP NEXT

The Marlins series continues Saturday with Phillies RHP Aaron Nola (12-6, 3.29) facing RHP Darren McCaughan (0-0, 8.74) at 4:10 p.m. and RHP Seth Johnson (making his major-league debut) vs. RHP Max Meyer (3-5, 5.68) in Sunday’s 1:40 p.m. finale.

“Swing,” the Phillies All-Star third baseman said glumly, standing in front of his locker at loanDepot Park before Friday night’s game against the Marlins. “That’s it. Obviously, they can’t DH for me in the field. So it’s pretty useless until I can hit.”

With that in mind, the team reluctantly announced that Bohm, who has had a breakout season, has been placed on the 10-day injured list backdated to September 3. Infielder Buddy Kennedy has been recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to take his spot on the roster.

“We’re a little light on the bench, so we wanted to make sure we’re taking our time and not rushing him back,” manager Rob Thomson said. “It wasn’t progressing as quickly as we thought. So we’re doing the right thing and making sure he’s good to go.”

Bohm went into play Friday night tied with Kyle Schwarber for the team lead in RBI (89), ranked second to Trea Turner in batting average (.290) and third behind Schwarber and Bryce Harper in OPS (.805). He was also tied for the MLB lead with 44 doubles. But he understands the logic behind the move.

“(It feels) like someone’s got a hammer and with each swing they hit my hand with it,” he said. “Nobody wants to be not able to play. It was up to them as long as they wanted to be without an extra man on the bench. Obviously, I don’t want to be hurting everybody by not being able to play and now we’re a man light on the bench in case, God forbid, something crazy happens and we’re out of guys.”

For the time being, Kody Clemens is expected to get most of the starts at third against right-handed pitchers in a platoon with Edmundo Sosa playing against left-handers. Thomson hinted, however, that Sosa could be in the lineup Saturday against right-hander Darren McCaughan because the pitcher’s left-right splits are fairly even.

Kennedy, a graduate of Millville (NJ) High School, batted .295 with a .910 OPS for the IronPigs after being acquired from the Tigers on June 7. He was called up for two days in late August but did not appear in a game.

Bohm is eligible to be activated when the Phillies open a weekend series against the Mets next Friday at Citizens Bank Park, but it remains an open question whether or not he’ll be ready then even though a battery of tests have revealed no structural damage.

“Last time when I did this in ’21 it took about 16 days to play again,” Bohm said. “So once we got to the point where I still wasn’t able to swing, we just kind of figured it’s going to be around that same time. So no harm, no foul. Try to be back for the Mets series.”

And in the meantime? “Just doing a lot of stuff to strengthen it and do what we can. Kind of do what we can without pain and let it rest and heal and be ready when it’s ready,” he added. “At the end of the day, I want to get healthy for the home stretch.”

Thomson, while hoping to have Bohm as soon as possible, is also realistic. “(It’s been long enough) that there are some progressions we’ve got to work through,” the manager said. “First, he’ll have to swing the bat pain-free. Then he’s got to do cage work and BP. And then velocity and curveballs. I don’t even know about a rehab assignment. So hopefully it’s 10 days but it’s probably going to be longer than that.”

Bohm has been dealing with a left hand strain for over a week. He suffered the injury on a swing in the first inning of the Phillies’ game on August 29, lasteed another inning and hasn’t played since.

X-rays showed no structural damage but Bohm dealt with soreness and inflammation and still felt it after some dry swings.

Manager Rob Thomson said in Toronto that the Phillies hoped to have Bohm back in Miami but he hasn’t progressed as fast as they thought. He is now not eligible to return until September 13 when the Phillies open a series at home against the Mets.

The Phils have gone 6-1 without their RBI leader. Bohm is hitting .290 with an MLB-leading 44 doubles and has driven in 89 runs to lead the team.

Buddy Kennedy was called up from Triple A Lehigh Valley to take his place on the active roster. Edmundo Sosa and Kody Clemens figure to split time at third base with Bohm out.

The 1-seed carries great importance because it comes with home-field advantage throughout the National League playoffs, and since the best American League team is 3½ games back of the Phils and Dodgers, it will likely also mean home-field advantage in the World Series.

Even if they don’t finish as the 1-seed, the Phillies have created three games of distance between themselves and the Brewers for the 2-seed, which is also crucial because the top two seeds in each league receive a bye in the wild-card round. Though the Phillies have made deep postseason runs two years in a row after playing in the wild-card round, their position players and pitchers could use the break this time.

The Phils have a big series in Milwaukee Sept. 16-18. Any result other than a Brewers sweep and the Phillies win the head-to-head tiebreaker over them as well.

Phillies remaining schedule

Both the Phillies and Dodgers have 22 games left.

The Phils have:

• 3 at Marlins
• 3 vs. Rays
• 3 vs. Mets
• 3 at Brewers
• 4 at Mets
• 3 final home games against the Cubs
• 3 final road games in D.C.

The seven games with the Mets will be tough because they have a ton to play for, tied with the Braves for the final NL wild-card spot. How the Phillies fare against the Mets will determine which second NL East team makes the playoffs.

The remaining six games against the Marlins and Nationals should not be difficult. Both teams are stripped down from even their below-average first-half rosters and are failing to score runs or hit for power.

The Rays are also a shell of the roster they opened the season with. They have the winning percentage of a 69-win team since the trade deadline and have dropped nine of the last 14.

The Cubs’ offense has been red-hot with double-digit runs in six of the last 13 games, though who knows if that’s still the case in three weeks when the teams meet at Citizens Bank Park. Their lineup also started the season like this before going into a two-month skid.

Dodgers remaining schedule

The rest of the road for the Dodgers includes:

• 3 vs. Guardians
• 3 vs. Cubs
• 4 at Braves
• 3 at Marlins
• 3 vs. Rockies
• 3 vs. Padres
• 3 at Rockies

The Dodgers’ next 10 games — Cleveland, the Cubs, Atlanta — will be tough. The Guardians are fighting for the top seed in the AL, the Braves are clinging to their playoff lives and the Cubs are the only dark horse team that could potentially leapfrog the Braves and Mets for the final playoff spot.

But LA’s final 12 games look pretty easy with nine against the Rockies and Marlins, two of the three worst teams in baseball.

If the Phillies trail the Dodgers by a game or two heading into that final two-week stretch, their chances of making up ground won’t be great unless the Dodgers uncharacteristically stumble. They’re human, and they lack starting pitching, but they also have a more complete lineup than they’ve had all year with Mookie Betts and Max Muncy healthy in addition to Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Will Smith and Teoscar Hernandez. Betts and Muncy missed all seven Phillies-Dodgers games this season.

The race could create an interesting dynamic where both the Phillies and Dodgers have their divisions secured with a week to go but are still jockeying for seeding. The Phils would ideally love to take things easy over the final week with their starting pitchers while also figuring out how to rest hitters without disrupting their timing. Balancing that with home-field advantage could be a big topic in this town by mid-September.

It’s different now, what with multiple wild cards and homefield in the World Series decided by the better regular season record and all that.

So when the Phillies took the field Thursday night at LoanDepot Park to begin a four-game series against the Marlins, several of the big blue numbers on the out-of-town board in left-center will demand their attention this weekend.

After beating the Fish, 5-2, they’ve won five in a row and 10 out of 12.

They have an 8-game lead over the Braves, (who lost to Colorado and will next host Toronto) but the Mets (home against Cincinnati), are nipping at their heels. That could impact which NL East team lurks as a possible future playoff opponent. More significantly, they are tied with the Dodgers (home against the Guardians) for the best record in the National League and three up on the Brewers (home against the Rockies) to earn homefield advantage until the World Series. And they hold a slight edge over the Orioles (vs. Rays), Guardians (at Dodgers) and Yankees (at Cubs) for best overall record.

That’s a lot to keep track of. But it matters, of course, because the Phillies are money at The Bank (47-24) and meh (37-32) everywhere else.

Which brings us to Bryce Harper.

The Phillies superstar admitted last week he’s been bothered by discomfort in his surgically-repaired right elbow as well as his wrist and was taken out of Wednesday’s game in Toronto after being hit on the right elbow by a pitch.

He started Thursday and went 0-for-3 with a walk. He hasn’t homered since August 9. That was 97 plate appearances ago. Logic suggests that several days off might do wonders for him. But even with a comfortable division lead, finishing with the best record remains a goal. What’s a manger to do?

“There is a balance there and we’ll have to monitor it as we get there,” Rob Thomson said of his general approach to navigating the remaining three-plus weeks of the schedule. “There’s that final carrot of having the best record in baseball. So that’s there and I’ve said all along it’s just so important to play at home in front of our fan base. It just energizes our group, so I think that’s an important part. Without putting people in harm’s way.”

As far as Harper specifically, he said giving him a week off is the answer. “But, at some point, if we have to rest him, we will,” he added.

HE’S NO. 5: The Phillies have confirmed that righthander Seth Johnson will be called up and start against the Marlins on Sunday. He’ll replace Tyler Phillips, who was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley after his last start, in the rotation.

Johnson was acquired from the Orioles along with righthander Moises Chace in the trade deadline deal that sent reliever Gregory Soto to Baltimore. “The reports have been very good,” Thomson said. “The fastball is 94-96. He’s got a four-pitch mix. We’re really happy with wat we’ve got.”

That means it will be Zack Wheeler (13-6, 2.63) vs. RHP Edward Cabrera (3-6, 5.33) Friday night At 6:40 p.m., RHP Aaron Nola (12-6, 3.29) vs. RHP Darren McCaughan (0-0, 8.74) Saturday at 4:10 p.m. and Johnson, making his Major League debut) vs. RHP Max Meyer (3-5, 5.68) in Sunday’s 1:40 p.m. series finale.

ROSTER ROULETTE: Outfielder Aaron Hays was placed on the injured list with a kidney infection Thursday and outfielder Cal Stevenson was called up to replace him. “It’s a kidney infection, so we’re sending him back to Philadelphia to get further tests and make sure that’s what it is,” Thomson said. “Obviously, I’m no doctor but they’re telling me it’s hard to tell how long it will take. We thought that 48 hours of antibiotics would knock it out but it didn’t. In fact, it’s worse.” … Alec Bohm remained out of the lineup with a sore wrist. “It’s just like one spot that he gets to and starts rolling his hand over and he can feel it. It feels a little better every day but it hasn’t progressed as quickly as we’d hoped,” Thomson said.

Subscribe anywhere you get your podcasts:
Apple Podcasts | Youtube Music | Spotify | Stitcher | Art19 | RSS | Watch on YouTube

With Taijuan Walker then in the process of pitching his way from the rotation to the bullpen and the No. 5 spot in the rotation unsettled, to say the least, having an at-the-top-of-his-game Suarez to go with Cy Young candidate Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola and Cristopher Sanchez, put the Phillies in an enviable position going down the home stretch and into the postseason.

That sense of quiet elation lasted exactly six days.

His next time to the mound Suarez, who was 10-1 with a 1.81 earned run average through his first 13 starts, was unhittable through the first two innings … before being tagged for four runs on five hits, including two homers, in the next two before heading for the showers.

Everybody insisted there was no physical reason a pitcher who had been sidelined twice already with lower back issues had lost it so quickly, so completely. So, yeah, the just-turned-29-year-old had something to prove when he took the mound Thursday night against the Marlins at LoanDepot Park.

And the Phillies exhaled. Again.

Suarez pitched five shutout innings on three hits and two walks in what turned out to be an uncomplicated 5-2 Phillies win. He struck out four.

There are still questions to be answered. His velocity was down a little, about two miles an hour on his fastballs. Manager Rob Thomson lifted him after just 82 pitches, meaning the bullpen was called on to fill up four more innings. But it was unquestionably a step in the right direction.

“He pitched,” Thomson said, stressing the second word. “Him and Wheeler and Nola. Those guys know how to pitch when they don’t have their good fastball. They know how to change speeds and get chases. I think he used more of his secondary pitches than he usually does just because he didn’t have the velo. He’s smart. He knows what he’s doing out there.”

Suarez was operating under a soft 90-pitch limit, which is why he came out when he did.

“I didn’t want to send him back out for one hitter and I felt like he was good right there. Next time he can probably go to 95, almost 100.”

The manager conceded that he had more than a passing interest in seeing how Suarez would bounce back. “I was,” he said. “He pitched better tonight than he did the last time, so we’re making progress.”

Suarez was also happy with his outing. “My breaking balls were working today so why stop throwing them?” he said. “That’s why we work so hard in between. To leave the bad starts behind and create new things, better things and make them happen.

“You’re not always 100 percent with your velocity. That’s what I had and I worked with it and it worked well and we got the results we wanted. I feel good and I think I’m headed (to being able to pitch deeper into games).”

The Phillies have also turned themselves around. They’ve now won five straight and 10 of their last 12 and extended their lead over the second-place Braves to 8 games in the National League East while reducing their Magic Number to 15.

After sweeping an abbreviated two-games series in Toronto against the last-place Blue Jays, they picked up where they left off against the last-place Marlins before an announced crowd of 9,355. That is not a typo, by the way.

They had Miami starter Adam Oller on the ropes early, including having the bases loaded with one out in the fourth without scoring, but clung to a 1-0 lead before finally building a cushion by scoring four in the sixth, knocking Oller out in the process.

Second baseman Bryson Stott is getting hot again after a midseason slump. He had an RBI single in the first and then sparked a four-run rally in the sixth with a second-deck home run to right-center. In his last 17 games he’s 17-for-56 (.304) with three homers.

“His at bats lately have been really good,” Thomson said. “He’s really grinding at bats and every once in awhile he’ll get out in front and hit one high to right. It’s nice to see him hit the ball out of the ballpark.”

Said Stott: “I feel like I’m in a pretty good spot right now. To me it’s less about feeling and more about where the ball’s going. If I’m using the whole field, hitting line drives to left, that’s when I’m at my best.”

His homer was quickly followed by a walk to J.T. Realmuto and a single by Brandon Marsh that convinced Marlins manager Skip Schumaker to bring lefty Anthony Veneziano in to face lefthanded-hitting Kody Clemens.

Clemens dove both runners home with a double to left. Johan Rojas reached on an infield single, advancing Clemens who then scored when Veneziano bounced a wild pitch past catcher Nick Fortes while Rojas was in the process of stealing second.

After that, it was pretty much all over but the shouting. Which came from behind the first base dugout when Matt Strahm was one out away from recording his third save of the season and may sound familiar.

E-A-G-L-E-S. . .

Subscribe anywhere you get your podcasts:
Apple Podcasts | Youtube Music | Spotify | Stitcher | Art19 | RSS | Watch on YouTube

Schwarber homered three times as part of a five-hit night Tuesday and hit another bomb on the second pitch of Wednesday’s 4-2 win. He’s tied with Alfonso Soriano in 2003 for the most leadoff home runs (13) ever in a season.

Kody Clemens, who had two important at-bats off the bench Tuesday night with an RBI groundout and double ahead of Schwarber’s game-winning homer, gave the Phillies a lead that lasted Wednesday with a two-run homer in the second inning off Bowden Francis.

The Blue Jays jumped on Sanchez with four doubles in their first eight at-bats but did nothing against him thereafter. The lefty delivered seven walk-free innings of two-run ball with seven strikeouts to improve to 10-9 with a 3.45 ERA in 159 innings.

The seven innings from Sanchez were crucial because the Phillies used six relievers to get from the bottom of the first to the bottom of the ninth Tuesday after Tyler Phillips recorded only two outs. They needed only Jeff Hoffman (1.82 ERA) and Carlos Estevez (2.17), who did what they usually do by throwing up goose eggs.

The Phillies are 83-56 and rolling. They’ve won four consecutive series over the Royals, Astros, Braves and Blue Jays, going 9-3 in the process. They continue to maintain a nearly insurmountable division lead over the Braves, stay ahead of the Brewers for the 2-seed and keep pace with the Dodgers for the top overall record.

A sour note in the win was Bryce Harper’s early exit. Harper was hit by a pitch on the left elbow in his first and only plate appearance. He was clearly in pain but remained in the game until his second at-bat when Edmundo Sosa pinch-hit.

Harper is more than a little banged up. He’s dealing with a wrist injury that has lingered for three-plus months, soreness in his right elbow and now pain in the left elbow. It would not be at all surprising to see manager Rob Thomson play it safe with him against the Marlins, even if it means sitting one game.

The Phillies have also played five in a row without Alec Bohm, who strained his left hand on a swing last Thursday. The team is hopeful to have Bohm back for the four-game series in Miami Thursday through Sunday and Thomson reiterated in Toronto that it’s not an IL situation.

The Phils will start Ranger Suarez, Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola in their first three games at loanDepot Park. Sunday is TBD after Phillips was optioned to Triple A on Wednesday.

The Phils selected the contract of right-hander Nick Nelson, who made three appearances in early April, one last season and 47 the year before. To make room for Nelson on the 40-man roster, right-hander Michael Rucker was designated for assignment.

Phillips was hit hard in Toronto, not making it out of the first inning, putting eight men on base and allowing six runs. The Phillies eventually came all the way back, winning 10-9 on Kyle Schwarber’s third home run of a five-hit night.

Phillips, who had unspectacular minor-league numbers, put together a storybook first month in the majors in July, going 3-0 with a 1.80 ERA in 25 innings, capping it off with a four-hit shutout of the first-place Cleveland Guardians. 

It’s been downhill since. He’s allowed 23 earned runs in his last 11⅔ innings, the highest ERA for any Phillie over a four-game span in 30 years. 

The Phillies have options for the next time the fifth spot comes up Sunday in Miami. It could be Nelson as a starter or bulk reliever. It could be a true bullpen game depending how much of it is used the prior two nights.

The Phillies have Cristopher Sanchez pitching Wednesday in Toronto, then Ranger Suarez, Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola and the No. 5 spot in Miami. 

Taijuan Walker was removed from the rotation after the Astros pounded him last Wednesday. He made his bullpen debut Tuesday night with three innings of relief. He allowed two runs on a Vladimir Guerrero Jr. homer. 

As a spot starter, Allard has performed the best. He has a 3.50 ERA in four appearances (three starts) and allowed just four runs in 14 innings with two walks and 12 strikeouts his last three times out.

Harper, Castellanos back in there

There was a bit of uncertainty as to whether Bryce Harper or Nick Castellanos would be in the lineup the day after a night game in which both were dinged up.

Castellanos exited late in the game after being hit by a pitch on the leg. He’s in the DH spot and still tracking toward starting all 162 games.

Harper grimaced during his final at-bat of the night, dropping the bat as he struck out. Manager Rob Thomson told reporters after the game that Harper tweaked the elbow that has been bothering him for several weeks. Harper is also dealing with a wrist injury that has lingered since May.

Harper went 2-for-6 on Tuesday, and though he hasn’t homered in 92 consecutive plate appearances dating back to August 9, he’s hit .372/.449/.535 with seven doubles over his last 11 games.

It was without a doubt their most dramatic. 

They inched back into the game by taking good at-bats in nearly every inning after falling behind by five runs in the first and finally went ahead on a three-run blast in the top of the ninth from Kyle Schwarber, who had the best night of his major-league career in an epic 10-9 Phillies win. 

Schwarber went 5-for-6 with three home runs, a double and six RBI against the Blue Jays. He led off the game with a no-doubter off Chris Bassitt, took Bassitt out again in the top of the fourth to make it a two-run game and capped off a tense nine-pitch at-bat against Chad Green in the ninth with his third of the game. 

Schwarber had not homered since hitting a grand slam against the Marlins on August 14. A week earlier, he hit three home runs and drove in seven at Dodger Stadium. 

Schwarber is the only Phillie in the modern era with two three-homer games in the same season. He’s hitting .245/.379/.474 with 31 homers, 88 RBI, 92 runs scored and a National League-leading 94 walks. He’s also struck out 47 fewer times than last season. 

Schwarber’s ninth-inning plate appearance was far from the only long, professional at-bat worked by the Phillies. They had 18 hits, six walks and a hit batsman. They went just 4-for-19 with runners in scoring position but made them count. 

September call-up Kody Clemens came off the bench and had enormous at-bats, an 11-pitch RBI groundout in the seventh that brought the Phillies within two runs, and a ninth-inning double down the first-base line to put two runners in scoring position ahead of Schwarber’s game-winner. 

The Phillies needed all the offense because Tyler Phillips was blown up for six runs in the first inning. He recorded only two outs and put eight men on base before being lifted for Tanner Banks. Phillips was tentatively in line to start again Sunday in Miami but that’s likely TBD now. Kolby Allard is not eligible to be recalled from Triple A again until next Tuesday, September 10. 

Rob Thomson used Banks, a returning Jose Alvarado, Taijuan Walker in his bullpen debut, Jose Ruiz, Orion Kerkering and Matt Strahm to cover the final seven innings. They’ll need innings out of Cristopher Sanchez on Wednesday afternoon. 

Castellanos came out of the game after being hit by a pitch, and Bryce Harper appeared to tweak something in his final at-bat, wincing in pain and dropping the bat as he struck out. Their statuses should be updated ahead of Wednesday’s game. 

The Phillies are on a real roll. They won two of three in Kansas City, two of three over the Astros, three of four over the Braves and started their six-game road trip with one of their most triumphant nights of the year. 

They came back Tuesday from deficits of 6-1 and 8-4. Last week, the Phillies trailed by multiple runs in the fifth inning or later in five of the seven games of their homestand yet went 5-2. 

The Phils are 82-56 with 24 games to play.

Bohm suffered a left hand strain on an awkward swing in the first inning of last Thursday’s series opener against the Braves. He has not been placed on the injured list and manager Rob Thomson told reporters before Tuesday’s game against the Blue Jays that he still doesn’t think Bohm will require time on the IL.

It does not sound, however, like Bohm will return in Toronto.

“It’s getting better but it’s not getting better as quickly as we’d thought,” he told reporters. “We just want to make sure we knock this thing out because I’m always afraid with foot injuries, hand injuries, it affects peoples swings and then you get into bad habits and lose some confidence.

“We’ll just keep monitoring it day to day. I would think probably it’s going to be Miami. It’s not going to be an IL.”

The Phillies play in Toronto Tuesday night and Wednesday afternoon, then have four games in Miami Thursday through Sunday. At this point, they don’t want to place Bohm on the injured list because they “don’t want to lose two or three days on the back end,” Thomson said.

Bohm is batting .290/.343/.462 on the season with a major-league-leading 44 doubles. He’s hit 13 homers and leads the Phillies with 89 RBI.

Nick Castellanos occupied the cleanup spot for the fourth straight game without Bohm. Castellanos had three huge games during last week’s homestand, hitting a three-run homer off Justin Verlander, a two-run homer late against the Braves in the series opener and a walk-off single as part of a three-RBI night in the finale.

Shortstop Aidan Miller was promoted today to Double-A Reading, his third level of play this year. The 2023 27^th overall pick began 2024 in A-ball with Clearwater. He was promoted to High-A Jersey Shore in early June.

The 20-year-old struggled with the promotion at first, slashing just .167/.286/.273 in his first 18 games with the BlueClaws, with 19 strikeouts and just 11 hits. In the 40 games since, he has figured things out in a big way. He hit .296 with 31 runs scored, 20 extra-base hits, and an OPS of .897.

He closed out his run in Lakewood with a career-high 5-for-5 effort, finishing a triple short of the cycle.

Miller is ranked as the No. 1 prospect in the Phillies’ organization and 28^th among all prospects, according to MLB Pipeline.

The bad news is that Reading has just six games remaining. The good news is that fans will get a chance to see Miller all week, as all six games are at home, beginning tonight against Erie.

This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.

Nick Castellanos tied the game with a two-out double on an 0-2 count in the bottom of the sixth and walked the Phils off with a two-out single in the 11th after again starting the count 0-2.

It sent the sellout crowd of 43,249 home deliriously happy, just like after Bryce Harper’s walk-off hit Monday, Castellanos’ huge game Tuesday, the four-run comeback Thursday and the Zack Wheeler-led shutout Saturday.

“It definitely feels like October’s around the corner,” Castellanos said.

The Phillies took three of four from the Braves after winning two of three over the Astros. It was their best week in months. They’re seven games ahead of Atlanta without a head-to-head matchup the rest of the season, which will make closing the gap extremely difficult for the Braves.

“We don’t get cold feet, that’s what it looks like and that’s what it feels like,” Carlos Estevez said when asked his first impressions on the Phillies-Braves rivalry.

“Really important. We were kind of struggling, and stepping on the gas and doing this, taking a bigger lead, that’s more insurance and feels really good.”

The Phils are 81-56 with 25 games to play. They’re a game behind the Dodgers for the 1-seed in the National League and lead the Brewers by a game for the 2-seed.

Aaron Nola and Spencer Schwellenbach engaged in a pitchers’ duel for most of the first six innings and the back of the Phillies’ bullpen locked things down from there.

Orion Kerkering, Jeff Hoffman, Matt Strahm and Estevez followed with five zeroes and combined for 15⅓ scoreless innings this week. Estevez retired all six hitters he faced with the auto-runner in scoring position in the 10th and 11th. It was a stellar homestand for the Phillies’ top four relievers against high-caliber competition.

“Unbelievable,” manager Rob Thomson said of Estevez’ performance. “He’s landing his slider and throwing strikes, going right after people. He was a big pickup.

“We’re not to October yet, we’ve still got a long ways to go but we’ve got to keep those guys healthy and as fresh as we can.”

The first run of the game scored on a Michael Harris II home run off Nola with two strikes and two outs in the top of the third. To that point, Nola had retired eight of the first nine with five strikeouts.

Nola then threw 31 pitches in a plodding, stressful fourth inning but allowed only one run, nearly wiggling his way out without damage. With one away and runners on the corners, Whit Merrifield grounded a ball softly to shortstop. The Phillies initially appeared to turn an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play but Merrifield was ruled safe after Brian Snitker challenged.

Nola found his rhythm thereafter, retiring the final seven hitters he faced. It was a strong outing in his 38th career start against the Braves — 6 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 9 K. He kept the game close enough for his lineup to finally strike the third time through.

Nola and Zack Wheeler started four of the seven games on the Phillies’ homestand and pitched like aces with a 1.38 ERA, 0.85 WHIP and 28 strikeouts in 26 innings. Pitching led the way in the first half and it was there all week for the Phillies, minus Wednesday’s forgettable 10-run loss.

The Phils are off Monday ahead of a six-game road trip through Toronto and Miami. Tyler Phillips and Cristopher Sanchez will face the Blue Jays, with Ranger Suarez, Wheeler, Nola and Phillips set to start in Miami.

“Now we’ve got to keep going,” Thomson said. “You see a lot of times, you have a big series like this and then there’s a letdown. You can’t let down, you’ve got to keep going, keep fighting.”

Bohm strained his left hand on an awkward swing against Charlie Morton in the first inning of Thursday’s series opener. He tried to play through it but was removed an inning later. He’s dealt with inflammation and swelling in the hand this weekend but X-rays showed no structural damage.

Thomson still does not think Bohm will require a stint on the injured list.

“His grip strength is getting better,” Thomson said. “It’s not hurting as much, but not ready to put a bat in his hand yet.

“He’s getting better but not quite ready to play yet.”

Bohm stretched and ran on the outfield grass with a trainer early in the afternoon Sunday. The Phillies are hopeful to have him back in the lineup Tuesday to begin their six-game road trip. The first two are in Toronto, the next four are in Miami. He has been unavailable to pinch-hit this weekend and almost certainly won’t Sunday in order to get 48 more hours before the next game.

Edmundo Sosa started at third base in the series finale vs. Braves right-hander Spencer Schwellenbach. The Phillies called up left-handed-hitting Kody Clemens earlier in the day as rosters expanded from 26 to 28 but Thomson liked what he saw Saturday night from Sosa, who hit a 450-foot home run to left-center and doubled to right-center in a 3-0 win.

Alvarado missed six games dealing with a family matter back home in Venezuela. He rejoined his teammates Friday but wasn’t activated until after Saturday’s game.

The Phils will make two more roster moves Sunday morning when rosters expand from 26 to 28 on September 1. Their two call-ups will be right-handed starting pitcher Tyler Phillips and corner infielder Kody Clemens.

Phillips will start Tuesday’s game in Toronto and likely Sunday in Miami. He’ll be pitching the rotation spot previously occupied by Taijuan Walker, who was moved to the bullpen after getting shelled Wednesday by the Astros.

If Phillips pitches well, he could hold onto that spot throughout September. If not, it could go to Kolby Allard when Allard is eligible to be recalled from Triple A on September 10. (Pitchers must remain in the minor leagues for at least 15 days after being optioned unless there’s an injury.)

Clemens will likely start at third base on Sunday night against righty Spencer Schwellenbacj because it sounds like Alec Bohm will miss a third straight game with inflammation in his left hand. Bohm was unavailable to pinch-hit Friday and Saturday.

The Phillies’ ace delivered seven scoreless innings in a 3-0 win. He is 13-6 with a 2.63 ERA and 0.98 WHIP and continues to keep pace with Atlanta’s Chris Sale (15-3, 2.58, 1.02) in the National League Cy Young race.

“Yeah, I hope so,” Wheeler said when asked if he feels he’s positioned himself well to win the award. “You come into the season and that’s one of your personal goals and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with personal goals because if you set them and accomplish them or come even close to it, you’re helping the team a lot and that’s all I try to do every year, be the best I possibly can.”

By winning at least two of their four meetings with the Braves this weekend, the Phillies are guaranteed a division lead of either five or seven games after Sept. 1. With no remaining head-to-head matchups, the Braves will have a difficult time catching up.

Wheeler retired the first six hitters he faced, just like Ranger Suarez on Friday night. But while Suarez unraveled in the third and fourth innings, Wheeler kept hitting spots.

The Phillies’ infield made it tough on him in the top of the third with a Weston Wilson error at third base and a poorly executed double-play try by shortstop Trea Turner and second baseman Edmundo Sosa that resulted in only one out. Wheeler navigated his way out of the inning without damage by popping up Whit Merrifield and rolling Jorge Soler over on a grounder to third.

Sosa, who was honored before the game with the Phillies’ 2024 Heart and Hustle Award, more than made up for his defensive miscue with a 450-foot home run to left-center off Max Fried in the bottom of the third. It was the Phillies’ second-longest homer of the season behind only a Turner 459-footer (also off Fried) in July. Sosa was fired up, flipping his bat and gesturing toward the dugout to hype up his teammates, then hulking up as he crossed home plate.

“The truth is, I felt really good about it, to contribute so early in the game and give us a headstart,” Sosa said. “I connected with the ball and looked at the dugout just to give them that hype, that energy, just to hopefully keep the rally going and score more runs.”

That one run was all Wheeler needed because he had everything working. He allowed only four hits, all of them singles. There might be others on his level but no one better.

Since joining the Phillies before the 2020 season, Wheeler has faced the Braves 16 times in the regular season and has a 2.07 ERA, allowing two earned runs or fewer in 13 of them.

“I think that the brighter the lights, the better the command gets, the better the stuff gets, the better the execution gets,” manager Rob Thomson said. “”You can tell when he’s locked in and he was locked in tonight. He’s a big-game pitcher. These types of games, you feel like you’re gonna get six, seven, eight innings out of him because he just gets locked in and he pounds the zone like he did tonight.”

The most dangerous at-bat of the night for Atlanta belonged to the hottest hitter in baseball, Matt Olson, with one out in the top of the sixth. He clobbered a ball 401 feet to straightaway center that looked like a home run off the bat but was robbed by Johan Rojas, who raced to the wall in time and calmly reached over without leaping. It wasn’t even the most impressive robbery of the night as Michael Harris II went full Spiderman to take one away from Austin Hays in the seventh.

Wheeler responded after the Olson near-homer with a three-pitch strikeout of Travis d’Arnaud, that whipped the sellout crowd of 42,730 into a frenzy. Turner kept the momentum in the home dugout with a leadoff home run in the bottom half of the inning. It was his first homer since Aug. 18 and just his second in 32 games dating back to July 24.

“I just pride myself on big games and big moments,” Wheeler said. “The crowd was electric out there tonight and I was feeling it. Every time they’re out there and I’m out there, it’s pretty cool to be a part of. They brought the electricity tonight and I just tried to match it.

Sosa provided more insurance with an RBI double to the right-center gap in the bottom of the seventh. Third-base coach Dusty Wathan aggressively sent the fast and athletic Wilson all the way from first base despite Wilson getting a late start and it barely worked.

The Phillies are 80-56 with 26 games left. They all count because the Phils entered Saturday tied with the Brewers for the 2-seed in the National League playoffs and the difference between finishing second or third is having to play an extra round, likely against these Braves.

The win was also the 100th of Wheeler’s career, a milestone made even sweeter because it came against his hometown team.

“It was special. Number one was against these guys and number 100,” he said. “Number one was back home in Atlanta where I’m from and it was really cool to make my debut against that team. I just remember Jason Heyward was my first strikeout and I worked out with him every offseason. Number 100 against these guys, it’s been a long road. Just believing in myself, just work hard and get wins.”

But he ended Saturday night with a home run drought of 81 plate appearances dating back to August 9 in Arizona and at times it has looked like he’s been playing hurt. He narrowly ended it in his final at-bat, drilling a ball to the back of the warning track in right-center off Jesse Chavez.

Harper admitted to MLB.com on Friday afternoon that he’s dealing with nagging soreness in his right wrist and right elbow but he’s been hesitant to expand, not wanting to make excuses.

“The elbow. The wrist. It’s not anything crazy, but obviously it’s there,” he told MLB.com.

He then went out Friday night and picked up three hits, including two doubles.

“I feel fine, I feel good,” he said after the game. “It’s August so I think everybody’s grinding a little bit, but it’s just part of the game, it’s part of the process, it’s part of the season. Just to have to stay the course. I rely heavily on my body. I’ve just got to go.”

Three weeks is a long time for Harper to go homerless but it’s not even close to the worst drought of his career. That came last season when he went 37 games and 166 plate appearances. From the time he snapped that skid last July through the end of the regular season, he hit .293 with a 1.000 OPS.

There’s a full month of regular-season baseball to play and the Phillies haven’t locked anything up, so they won’t be able to take it easy on Harper for at least three more weeks, nor would he want that.

They just have to hope the nagging pain doesn’t become anything worse by the first week of October.

Does Harper think he’ll be feeling any better by then?

“I just have to,” he said, “that’s it.”

Alvarado, who is expected to be activated from the restricted list prior to Sunday’s series finale against the Braves, spoke with the media before Saturday’s game.

He was brief and earnest with his responses. The left-handed pitcher traveled back home to Venezuela for a family matter, did not wish to go into details and is thankful for the support he’s received. Sometimes, that’s all you need to know.

“A personal situation with my family, that’s it,” Alvarado said. “I can’t tell anything about what’s going on, what happened, because that’s really, really personal.”

What he did want to touch on, was the overwhelming amount of messages he had gotten in the brief time:

“Thank you for the team for supporting me, going through it with me. Like I said before, I don’t have too much to say … But thank you to the team, thank you to the city, thank you for everybody. I received a lot of messages from a lot of people, like fans, saying ‘Hopefully everything is good. I’ll pray with you and your family.’ And now I’m here, and that’s it.”

Alvarado is tired from the amount of travel in such a short period of time but is hopeful to be ready to get back on the mound in the upcoming road series against Toronto.

Bohm feeling better

After injuring his left hand during his first at-bat Thursday night against Charlie Morton, Alec Bohm was out of the lineup for a second consecutive day.

He has been dealing with soreness and inflammation in his left hand.

Luckily, the concern has significantly decreased.

“He’s feeling better,” manager Rob Thomson said Saturday. “Not ready to start yet. And again, it’s kind of like (Friday). We’ll see how he reacts to treatment through the game and see if he’s available to pinch hit.”

Edmundo Sosa started at third for Bohm on Friday. Tonight, Weston Wilson gets the nod and Sosa shifts over to second as the club faces lefty Max Fried.

The biggest takeaway is hearing this is more likely a day-to-day situation for Bohm, rather than a quick stint on the injured list.

“It doesn’t seem like it,” Thomson said. “Not at this point because of the fact he’s feeling a lot better today.”

Subscribe anywhere you get your podcasts:
Apple Podcasts | Youtube Music | Spotify | Stitcher | Art19 | RSS | Watch on YouTube

Suarez struck out the first five batters he faced and retired the first six in order. But after the Phillies stranded a runner in scoring position in each of the first two innings, Braves shortstop Orlando Arcia and catcher Sean Murphy greeted Suarez with back-to-back homers in the top of the third.

The lefty then quickly found himself in a first-and-third, no-out jam in the fourth inning and both runners scored. Suarez’ night ended after four innings and 78 pitches, 24 of them in a high-stress fourth. He never had command of his secondary pitches, notably the changeup that has held hitters to a .193 batting average this season.

Suarez has made two starts since returning from a month-long absence with lower back soreness. He allowed one run over five innings in a win last Saturday in Kansas City, throwing 72 pitches. The Phillies had a limit in mind for him Friday and it was likely reduced slightly by the number of pitches he threw in the third and fourth. They wanted his pitch count to remain in the same range before extending him by 15 or so pitches in his next start next Thursday in Miami.

The Phillies have trailed by multiple runs entering the fifth inning in four of the five games of this week’s homestand. They didn’t score Friday until Bryson Stott pulled a solo homer off Reynaldo Lopez to lead off the bottom of the fifth. Stott has slumped most of the summer but walked three times in the series opener and is hitting .327 with a .404 on-base percentage over his last 15 games. The Phils’ only other run came on a solo homer by J.T. Realmuto in the seventh.

Alec Bohm did not play because of swelling and inflammation in his left hand. He suffered the injury on an awkward swing against Charlie Morton in his only at-bat Thursday. Bohm stayed in the game and played another inning before exiting. He underwent treatment on Friday but it was unlikely he’d have been used anyway and the Phillies will obviously exercise caution with their All-Star third baseman.

The series is even with the only two remaining regular-season meetings between the Phillies and Braves on Saturday and Sunday. The Phils are 79-56, five games ahead of the 74-61 Braves. The weekend will conclude with the Phillies leading the division by either three, five or seven games.

They’d love to win the series but simply splitting these final two games would leave the Phillies in great shape to win the NL East. They’d lead Atlanta by five games with 25 to go. The 2007 Phillies famously made up seven games on the Mets with 17 to play but that included a three-game head-to-head sweep. The Braves won’t have the ability to make up that kind of direct ground after Sept. 1.

He understood. He made 14 mostly poor starts this season. He spent seven weeks on the injured list with a blister and was even worse when he returned, his opponents hitting .377 with a 1.124 OPS.

“We’re getting to the last month of the season, these games count, these games matter. Not surprised at all, I’ve just got to do a better job,” Walker said before the Phillies played the Braves Friday.

It’s been an all-around difficult year for Walker. He did not pitch in the postseason last October and it caused a temporary crack in the relationship. He showed up to spring training 2024 but missed time early in camp for personal reasons, then dealt with knee soreness and eventually a right shoulder impingement that delayed his season debut until April 28 in San Diego.

All the while, Walker pitched with diminished velocity. His fastball in spring training was 88-89 mph compared to 93-94 last spring and summer.

Walker tried various methods to build velocity but none of them worked, at least not fully. A weighted-ball throwing program during his time on the IL in June and July helped him build back to the 91 mph range, but 91 is still a far ways off from 93-94, especially because it results in a smaller, less effective difference between his fastball and upper-80s splitter.

“The fact that my splitter is still 88 and my fastball is only 91-92, that’s kind of confusing for me,” Walker said. “There needs to be a bigger separation. For my splitter to be 88, usually my fastball should be 93-94.

“It’s kind of my first year that I’ve been bad all year. I’ve had moments where it’s been bad but also moments where it’s really good and that just hasn’t happened this year.

“It hasn’t been easy. But just keep going and try to stay confident in myself knowing that I’ve done it for so long, I’ve been good.”

Walker will transition to the bullpen beginning Tuesday night in Toronto, the first of two road games the Phillies have with the Blue Jays before four in Miami. He will likely be the mop-up man, appearing a handful of times in September. The team will break him in with a low-leverage, one-inning appearance next week.

On the surface, there doesn’t seem to be a bullpen role in the playoffs for Walker, who last relieved in 2014. He’s hoping to earn a spot.

“I guess it’s up to me. I have to show them that I can come out of the bullpen and be effective,” he said. “I’m gonna work really hard to do that. I want to be a part of it. It sucks not being a part of it and not helping out the team.

“I’m getting another chance. Obviously, me being in the rotation didn’t work out this year. I’m not saying that it still won’t but right now I need to focus on the bullpen and try to be as effective as possible and help out.”

Walker is owed $36 million after this season — $18M in 2024 and $18M in 2025. The Phillies could cut ties with him this winter but it wouldn’t gain them anything. They’re just as likely, if not likelier, to take Walker to spring training and see if his stuff has improved and he can win a No. 5 starter’s battle. If he can’t, they could make a decision then.

Walker will go through his weighted-ball routine all offseason. He and the Phillies hope that a more complete program will bring his velocity back and increase the bite on a splitter that went from his out-pitch to one of baseball’s worst.

“I think so, it should. We did it so quickly, we did it for a month,” Walker said. “I thought it helped my splitter tick up a little bit so that was a plus, but I think having a full offseason of doing it should help.

“Obviously, we’re still trying to focus on this year but the plan for the offseason is to do the weighted ball program and come in ready for camp.”

Alvarado will likely be activated from the restricted list in time for Sunday’s series finale against the Braves.

“He will be here today,” manager Rob Thomson said just before 4 p.m. “He’ll come in today and play catch, probably come in tomorrow and touch the mound a little bit and we’ll probably activate him after the game tomorrow.”

The nature of Alvarado’s situation is unclear but it would seem to be a good sign that he’s back so soon. As recently as Tuesday, there was no timetable for his return.

He’s an important piece to have back as one of the Phillies’ three left-handed relievers and part of their late-game formula. Alvarado has been inconsistent and wild since the first week of July, more hittable against lefties with less swing-and-miss, but he’s still a dangerous bullpen weapon because of his 98-99 mph sinker and 93-95 mph cutter.

Rosters expand on Sunday from 26 to 28 so the Phillies shouldn’t need to remove anyone to activate Alvarado. The other player they add will be a position player, likely either Kody Clemens (LH), Cal Stevenson (LH) or Buddy Kennedy (RH).

Bohm out of lineup

Alec Bohm was out of the Phillies’ lineup Friday, a night after injuring his left hand in his first at-bat against Charlie Morton.

Bohm is dealing with soreness and inflammation in his left hand. X-rays Thursday were negative. Thomson initially feared the dreaded hamate injury.

“I was, that was my initial reaction, but the X-rays didn’t reveal structural damage,” he said Friday.

“There’s a little inflammation in there so we’re just trying to knock that out. We’ll try to do treatment during the game and see if he’s available by the end of it.”

Edmundo Sosa started at third base.

For the second time in three games, Nick Castellanos delivered the game-changing swing. On Tuesday, it was a three-run homer off Justin Verlander. On Thursday, it was a game-winning two-run homer off right-handed reliever Grant Holmes with two outs in the seventh inning.

Castellanos has been money since the All-Star break. Over his last 40 games, he’s hit .293 with 12 doubles, a triple, seven homers and 30 RBI. Take it even farther back to Memorial Day and he’s hit .286 with an OPS well over .800.

The Phillies came into Thursday with a five-game lead over the Braves and knew that their advantage would be either one, three, five, seven or nine games depending on the result of the series. They now know that, at worst, they’ll end the weekend with a three-game lead.

“Down 4-0 in this type of series and the guys just kept coming,” manager Rob Thomson said. “I thought the at-bats were pretty good all night. We got (Charlie) Morton’s pitch count up pretty good, I don’t think we chased that much, six walks. They just kept battling.”

Brandon Marsh was just as instrumental in the win as Castellanos. The Phillies’ offense was lifeless for five innings, stranding four leadoff baserunners, three of whom reached scoring position. When Marsh stepped to the plate in the sixth inning, the Phils had gone 63 straight plate appearances without an extra-base hit and 14 straight innings without a run.

But after a brief mound visit, Charlie Morton finally paid for a lack of command. He walked four and hit a batter earlier in the game and left them all on base until Marsh finally broke through with a three-run homer to trim Atlanta’s lead to one and make it a game again.

“There wasn’t a lot of life at all, really, and that kinda jump-started everything,” Castellanos said.

Marsh homered and doubled, both to the opposite field. Thomson has talked all season about that being the key for him when he’s in a rut.

“He’s just using the field,” Thomson said. “I know he’s swinging and missing a little bit but he’s using the field and that’s his bread and butter. When he does that, he’s really good. It was huge, it got us back in the game, it got the stadium back in the game.”

Orion Kerkering picked up four important outs to maintain the momentum after Marsh’s longball and before Castellanos’. Kerkering retired the final batter of the sixth inning with two men on base, then went 1-2-3 through the top of the Braves’ order in the seventh.

The Phils moved Cristopher Sanchez back a day to start Thursday’s series opener. Sanchez matched up well with the Braves last week, delivering a quality start at Truist Park, and the team also wanted to give him extra time since he’s already exceeded his career-high in innings with at least a month of baseball left.

Starting after a full week off, Sanchez had a crisp fastball and his best changeup against the first seven hitters he faced but allowed a two-out RBI double in the top of the second and a monstrous 450-foot home run over the ivy wall in center field to Matt Olson in the third.

The runs were unearned because Trea Turner opened the inning with an error on a hard-hit groundball right to him from Whit Merrifield. Two games in a row, middle-infield defense cost the Phillies multiple runs. On Wednesday, Bryson Stott bobbled a sure-fire 4-6-3 double-play ball, extending the inning for a Yordan Alvarez homer.

Olson homered again off Sanchez to start the sixth. He had more homers in the span of three innings than lefties had vs. Sanchez in his entire major-league career (1) entering the night.

But Kerkering, Matt Strahm and Jeff Hoffman didn’t let the Braves generate anything else, retiring 10 of the 11 batters they faced.

The Phils are 79-55 with 28 games to go. The Braves are 73-61. Ranger Suarez, Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola are in line to start the next three nights opposite Reynaldo Lopez, lefty Max Fried and Spencer Schwellenbach.

Thanks to the positive shift in momentum midway through Thursday’s series opener, the Phillies have a chance to bury the Braves if they take care of business this weekend.

“It’s fun, man. It’s a high,” Castellanos said about the feeling of hitting a late go-ahead homer in front of a frenzied Citizens Bank Park crowd. “It’s a cool feeling when you have everybody stand up and show you love.”

Bohm injured his hand on the second swing of his first and only at-bat against Charlie Morton in the bottom of the first. His hands twisted awkwardly on the follow-through of his swing and he let out a yelp. Manager Rob Thomson and Phillies assistant athletic trainer Christian Bermudez checked on Bohm for a couple of minutes but the third baseman stayed in the game.

Bohm grounded out on the next pitch and went down the tunnel back into the Phillies’ clubhouse in apparent pain. He came back out for the top of the second and made the final play of the inning, catching a lineout from Luke Williams, then exited before the start of the third.

X-rays on Bohm’s hand were negative. He was replaced by Edmundo Sosa.

Bohm has appeared in 131 of the Phillies’ 133 games, starting 128. He’s hit .290 with a major-league-leading 44 doubles, 13 home runs and 89 RBI. While he’s struggled with runners in scoring position all homestand, he’d be a difficult loss as the Phillies’ top run producer.

More should be known about the injury after Thursday’s game.

Walker has a 6.50 ERA in 14 starts this season and has not improved since missing seven weeks with a blister, posting a 9.17 ERA and 2.04 WHIP.

“We’ve gotta talk about it,” and “we’ve gotta discuss it,” were Thomson’s responses when asked twice Wednesday evening whether Walker would make his next start.

The next time that rotation spot comes up is Tuesday in Toronto, but because the Phillies are off Monday, they do have the option of skipping the No. 5 spot. The next time they’d need a fifth starter is next Saturday, Sept. 7 in Miami.

Still, that’s not an ideal option either because the Phillies would like to get all of Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Ranger Suarez and Cristopher Sanchez extra time heading into the final month and postseason.

“I feel bad for him, I really do,” Thomson said of Walker. “All of you know how much I respect and love the players and he works extremely hard. He took the time on the IL to try different things to gain velocity, to gain action on his split. There’s no lack of effort there. When guys give effort and it doesn’t work out or you don’t see the results, it hurts. It hurts me and obviously it hurts him too.”

Walker’s fastball velocity and the movement of his splitter have increased slightly this month but it hasn’t translated into anything meaningful.

“Not really sure,” Thomson said when asked why it hasn’t. “I don’t really have an answer for it. I thought he was OK for the first couple of innings and then he lost finish in the fourth.

“There wasn’t a lot of swing-and-miss. … He certainly needs to have more swing-and-miss than he’s getting.”

Walker didn’t strike out a single Astro over his six innings. No Phillies pitcher in 76 years had allowed as many hits without a strikeout.

“I’ve never really struggled like this so it’s a little tough,” Walker said. “I feel good about myself, feel confident in myself. I obviously want to keep going and keep working through it, I know we’re pushing for the playoffs soon.”

The Phillies have two starters at Triple A they’ve used recently in lefty Kolby Allard and righty Tyler Phillips. Allard cannot be recalled from Triple A until Sept. 9 but Phillips can be called back up this Saturday once his 15 days since being optioned to the minors are up. Both have outperformed Walker, particularly Allard.

The Phils won’t need a No. 5 starter in October but they will need one for four or five more turns through the rotation in September.

“Frustrating, difficult,” Walker said of his last two weeks. “It’s obviously not the best times or moments for me. It’s just trying to keep my confidence and know that things are gonna start turning around, start going my way.”

The Phillies lost 16 of their first 27 games out of the All-Star break but it was no fault of his — Castellanos hit .310 in 100 at-bats over that span with 11 doubles, a triple, three home runs and 15 RBI.

The lineup is now rounding back into form with 22 combined runs Saturday and Sunday, then Bryce Harper’s best game in over a month in Monday’s walk-off.

Castellanos kept it going Tuesday night with a three-run homer off Justin Verlander in the third inning of a 5-0 Phillies win. With two outs, Verlander threw Castellanos an 0-1 curveball that stayed in the zone the entire time and was launched over the left-field wall, changing the game with one swing.

“I had a pretty good idea I was going to see an offspeed pitch at some point in the at-bat, I saw that curveball pretty early and hit it well,” Castellanos said. 

“Just trying to do less almost because of the way the game is attacking me. I see more offspeed pitches than anyone in baseball. Taking what the game gives me, right?”

Castellanos has indeed seen a higher rate of non-fastballs than any hitter in baseball this season. It shouldn’t be a surprise because the low-and-away breaking ball has long been his weakness. But even when Castellanos was at his lowest point this season, flailing at unhittable pitches, manager Rob Thomson stuck with him. Castellanos has started every game this season.

“We were in Cincinnati and I think I was probably hitting under .100 at that time and the question was do you need a couple days off to clear your head?” Castellanos recalled. “Topper told me on Opening Day after our batting practice, he said 162? And I just pointed back at him and nodded my head. Then for me to get off to a slow start and for him to stick to his word, as a player, now I know where he’s at.

“For a coaching staff, trust is the biggest thing you can have from your players. If you don’t feel like a manager has your back, that’s kinda uninspiring to lace up your cleats for.”

The Phils scored their first run just before Castellanos’ homer when Trea Turner singled in Austin Hays, who opened things with a double. It was a big at-bat by Hays to put a runner in scoring position for the top of the order and it was the kind of swing he needed. The Phillies are giving Hays a chance to play every day but he hasn’t hit righties this season before or after arriving from Baltimore at the trade deadline. This was a step in the right direction.

Harper, who reached base four times on Monday, singled in each of his first two at-bats Tuesday. His prolonged slump appears to be over. He’s 8-for-20 with four doubles and two walks over his last five games.

The Phillies have won four straight games, nine of 13 and claimed back-to-back series over the Royals and Astros. With 30 games left, they’re 78-54, as far over .500 as they’ve been since July 29.

They knew they’d be a bit short-handed in the bullpen Tuesday with Jose Alvarado on the restricted list and Carlos Estevez and Matt Strahm having appeared in back-to-back games. It heightened the need for Aaron Nola to go deep into a game and he did with seven scoreless innings in one of the Phillies’ best starts of the year. The Phillies’ lead had grown to five by the time he exited, enabling Thomson to rest his four best healthy relievers in Estevez, Strahm, Jeff Hoffman and Orion Kerkering.

Nola did a great job handling the Astros’ top two threats, Yordan Alvarez and Alex Bregman. Alvarez grounded out weakly to the right side twice and lined out, while Bregman struck out swinging twice and stranded two runners with a flyball. They’re a combined 2-for-20 off him without an extra-base hit.

Nola’s diciest spot was the top of the fifth when Ben Gamel and Jake Meyers singled out of the 7- and 8-spots. Nola navigated his way out of it with a flyout from Mauricio Dubon, a humpback liner to short from Jose Altuve and flyout from Bregman.

Turner had to jump to catch Altuve’s liner and, dramatic as it may sound, it might have been the difference between a win and a loss. If he missed it, the Astros would have either scored their first run or loaded the bases, still with one out, for the most dangerous section of their lineup with Bregman and Alvarez.

Nola is 12-6 with a 3.30 ERA and 17 of his 27 starts have been quality starts.

The Phillies go for the sweep Wednesday at 4:05 p.m. with Taijuan Walker (3-5, 6.26) opposing rookie right-hander Spencer Arrighetti (6-11, 4.94).

“Anytime you win it’s nice. Everybody relaxes a little bit, the media chills out, the coaching staff relaxes a little bit,” Castellanos said. “Everybody’s grip loosens up a little bit and it’s easier to drive a car when you’re not squeezing onto the steering wheel with all your might.”

Harper was partially responsible for keeping the game tied to set up his own heroics. He fielded a Yordan Alvarez chopper over the first-base bag and raced to retire him with a runner in scoring position and one out in the top of the 10th.

Johan Rojas, who had just entered as a defensive replacement after Edmundo Sosa pinch-hit for Brandon Marsh against Hader in the bottom of the ninth, dove to catch a sinking liner to end the inning. His read was perfect and he needed every bit of it to barely keep the ball from finding grass and scoring the go-ahead run.

For the sixth time this season, the Astros sent their top-shelf closer, Hader, out for a second inning of work and the Phillies made him pay. Trea Turner worked a walk and Harper capped off one of his best games in a month with the game-winning single between first and second base.

“Rolled the ball over again, I’m pretty good at that right now,” Harper said. “I was able to put good wood on it and win a game. It’s a big win against a really good team.”

The difference between this rollover and his 4-6-3 double play in the first inning was the walk-off came off his bat at 105 mph, leaving Jose Altuve little time to get a glove on it.

Harper reached base his final four times, walking twice, doubling and singling. It was his 12th-career walk-off hit and he needed it badly. He’d been 5-for-32 (.156) over the last eight games with one walk and 10 strikeouts. Typically, even when Harper slumps, he walks, but that hasn’t been the case since the All-Star break. Monday was just the second time in his last 35 games with multiple walks.

“I don’t think he gets down on himself too much,” said Zack Wheeler, who allowed two runs over six innings. “I’m sure it’s pretty hard when you’re that good and you expect that much out of yourself. Hopefully that starts something for him and he can continue off that.”

Wheeler battled through his six innings, particularly the first three. He was at 61 pitches and the Astros had fouled off 17 by the end of the third inning. Alvarez was responsible for 10 himself. But after Shay Whitcomb’s softly-hit double to no-man’s land in the top of the fourth, Wheeler locked in to retire seven in a row.

“I think that changed the momentum a little bit,” manager Rob Thomson said, “because it got (Astros starter Ronel) Blanco back out on the mound really quick and that’s when we scored.”

It was an important response after Houston scored the game’s first two runs. The Phillies didn’t want to begin this homestand against the Astros and Braves with a loss behind their ace. They’ve won three in a row after taking the final two in Kansas City and emerge from Monday with a 77-54 record.

The Phils are a game behind the Dodgers for the best record in the National League. If the teams finish with the same record, the Phillies hold the head-to-head tiebreaker. The Phils are currently the 2-seed with a 1½-game lead over the Brewers.

“It’s a great win right there,” Harper said. “Really good team over there and obviously wanted to start this week off good. Wheels threw the crap out of it, the bullpen did their job. Just a really good, hard-fought win right there.”