Sep 6, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; Philadelphia Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto (10) hits a foul ball off his leg against the Miami Marlins during the second inning at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
October is in sight, now the Phillies just need to figure out a way to keep everyone that’s healthy, healthy and anyone who is not, to help them recover over the next month.
That’s the goal after a game where the Phillies had their biggest offensive output of the season, bombarding the Miami Marlins for 22 hits in a 16-2 drubbing of the last place Fish.
It was the Phillies sixth straight win. Their record is now 85-56 and at 29 games over .500 it matches their high-water mark for the season.
They also maintained an eight-game lead in the N.L. East over both Atlanta and the New York Mets and reduced their magic number to win their first division title since 2011.
More importantly, with the Milwaukee Brewers losing at home to the lowly Colorado Rockies, the Phillies have re-opened a four-game lead over the Brew-Crew for a first-round bye.
All of this is good news, right?
Consider it happened on a day Alec Bohm was placed on the I.L. (retroactive to September 3) and in the midst of the offensive onslaught, J.T. Realmuto had to be removed from the game with a bruised knee after fouling a ball right off his kneecap. But he did this first, two pitches after smashing a ball into his knee and leaving the game.
J.T. Realmuto, tougher than you 💪 pic.twitter.com/VDp99gKJkR
Austin Hays was already on the I.L. with a kidney infection, so that’s three starters who can’t play at all. Then there’s the well-documented wrist/elbow soreness that Bryce Harper is playing through, and it has zapped his home run power (although he continues to be productive with three more hits Friday).
So, you see, no matter how great the win was from a productivity standpoint or a standings standpoint, the only “standing” word the Phillies are concerned about now, is how many of their guys will be able to do so on the field of play come the start of the NLDS on October 5.
“The biggest goal in the next 25 days or so is to just keep everybody healthy,” Trea Turner told the Philadelphia Inquirer after the game. “Sometimes you can’t avoid stuff like that, and it’s not always good to think like that, but I think it’s kind of in the back of our minds. You want to get through this month healthy and have a good shot at the postseason.”
TWO RUN HOMER FOR TREA TURNER!!! 6-0 PHILS!!! #16 FOR TREA!!!
pic.twitter.com/KZJCR7pmUS
And there’s still work to be done to reach the postseason. Nothing is guaranteed, and the last time the Phillies had a bunch of guys down with nagging injuries, or just coming back from a spell on the injured list, they went 13-22 in a 35-game span.
They can’t afford to play .371 baseball the rest of the way. That could sink everything they’ve worked for. And while it’s unlikely they will go into a similar slump again, until everything is clinched, they are going to keep grinding and make calculated decisions about when to rest guys.
If they have a game like Friday night, they can try and remove guys early to get them off their feet, like they did with Turner, and Harper and Nick Castellanos. They probably could have done it even sooner than they did, but that’s going to be their primary path at getting their guys “rest” before the champagne celebration, whenever that might occur.
Thomson said after the game that Realmuto will be re-evaluated on Saturday. It was his scheduled off day anyway, so Garrett Stubbs will catch Aaron Nola in that one, but will the Phillies give Realmuto a second day off on Sunday as well so he can heal up before coming home?
Possibly.
As for Bohm, he apparently had this same injury back in 2021 and it took 16 days for him to get back to playing. That would align with the day he’s eligible to return – which would be next Friday at the start of the penultimate home series of the season against the Mets.
In the interim, the Phillies will use a bunch of bench guys to fill in for him. Kody Clemens is swinging a hot bat, but Edmundo Sosa, Weston Wilson, and even Buddy Kennedy, who was recalled to replace Bohm on the active roster, can play third base.
Frankly, it didn’t matter who was in the lineup Friday, because they all hit the ball well.
Seven players had multi-hit games. Four of them – Turner, Harper, Clemens and Johan Rojas – had three-hit games.
Rojas became the first Phillie this season to register three doubles in one game.
Yeah, it was that kind of night.
Turner hit his 16th home run in the second inning to blow the game open. Kyle Schwarber hit his fifth homer in the last four games and now leads the team in RBIs (92).
Talk about a SCHWARBOMB#RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/MR970S7YTu
And all this was in support of Zack Wheeler, who only had to throw six innings in this laugher. Wheeler (14-6) allowed just two hits and one run. He struck out seven and only threw 84 pitches.
Another positive was Jose Alvarado got to pitch another inning and although he allowed one hit, he picked up three strikeouts in four batters. The Phillies had been hopeful that he would start getting his strikeouts up and bring his walks down, and for one night, he did just that.
ON DECK
The Phillies will look to keep rolling Saturday behind Nola (12-6, 3.29). Nola has a 1.44 ERA over his last four starts, all Phillies wins. He will be opposed by Marlins RHP Darren McCaughan (0-0, 8.24).
