Happy Memorial Day! On this day, we honor the lives of those who died in the service of our country. Over the years, Memorial Day has become synonymous with the start of the Summer as the temperatures (usually) begin to rise and flock to barbecues everywhere. In the Philadelphia area, those barbecues are typically flooded with the sounds of wood bats connecting with leather baseballs and the voice of Scott Franzke on the play-by-play.
Not this year.
The Philadelphia Phillies are one of six teams (Mariners, Astros, Athletics, Braves, and National) to not be scheduled for a Memorial Day game in 2025. While the Phillies travel home for a seven-game road trip, instead of hearing Franzke or watching the shenanigans of Tom McCarthy and John Kruk, let’s take a moment to reflect back on the biggest takeaways from the West Coast.
Beating the teams they are supposed to beat
If you combined the records of the Colorado Rockies and the Athletics, the teams would combine for 32 wins. The Phillies have won 34 games so far. That is how much of a gap there is between the Phillies and their recent competition. In years past, the Phillies had a stigma surrounding them that they would “play down” to an opponents level, losing games against teams they should otherwise beat. This year, that is simply not the case.
Dating back to before the road trip began, the Phillies had swept the struggling Pittsburgh Pirates in their three-game set in Philly. The Phillies then continued that success in the Mile High City, sweeping the Rockies in four games. Aiming to do the same, they came up barely short of a sweep in Sacramento against the Athletics.
Would it have been better for the Phillies to complete the sweep against the Athletics? Sure. But this is baseball. Anything can happen on any given day.
Because of their success on the road, the team currently holds the best record in baseball at 34-19 and have a 2.0 game advantage over the Mets in the National League East.
The bats are hot
While the temperatures might not be as warm as people would like on Memorial Day, the bats certainly are. The Phillies’ 12 home runs over the last seven games are tied for the second most in baseball right behind the red-hot Cubs. They have the second-most runs scored in baseball and also are in the top-five in stolen bases, batting average, and OPS.
One intriguing number, however, is the team’s BABIP. Batting average on balls in play is always a bit of an odd stat. Generally speaking, it indicates how often the team reaches base when they make contact. If a team has an unusually high BABIP, it may indicate that a team is hitting the ball into just the right spots in the field and will likely see some regression. Truth be told its hard to place a ball exactly where a batter wants it when they don’t even have half of a second to register where the ball is pitched, what type of pitch it is, and how fast it’s coming in to them.
The Phillies are in the middle of the pack with a .310 BABIP, 12th best in the league over the past week. That means the Phillies aren’t getting lucky at the plate, they are just hitting well.
Phillies receiving quality starts
In recent years, a team’s starting pitcher has been entrusted to pitch a lot less than they used to. Chalk it up to throwing harder, analytics-based strategy, poor management, whatever you want, that is just the name of the game. The Phillies have taken a different approach. Five of the Phillies’ last seven starts went at least six innings allowing at most three runs, leading the league in quality starts on the stretch.
Working 2.57 ERA as a rotation, the Phillies are consistently going deep into ballgames and taking pressure off a weakened bullpen.
Jesús Luzardo led the way pitching 13.0 innings across two starts. He struck out 10 batters in two consecutive starts, allowing four earned runs total. The 27-year old has been a fantastic addition to the Phillies’ rotation this season, currently sitting at 5-0 with a 2.15 ERA. He currently ranks eighth in all of baseball in strikeouts.
Keeping up the heat against the Braves
Having returned from the West Coast and owning a rest day today, the Phillies will look to continue their winning ways against their division rival Atlanta Braves. The Phillies have a three-game mid-week series against the Braves, and the recently activated Ronald Acuňa Jr. beginning on Tuesday evening.
Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images
