Weekend Recap: The Phillies are the Best Team in Baseball

This past weekend, the Phillies welcomed the reigning World Series Champion Los Angeles Dodgers into Citizens Bank Park for a three game series. The Dodgers entered the weekend with a league-best 8-0 record. They leave it with a 9-2 record, and the Phillies are atop the National League East, with a 7-2 record of their own after taking 2 of 3 from LA.

This Phillies weekend series was inspiring, to say the least. We heard the criticisms already, through two series - “the Phillies haven’t played anyone.” The great thing about baseball is things even themselves out very quickly. Sure, you could benefit a bit from being in a weak division - a position the Phillies do not find themselves in this year - but overall, the 162 game grind weeds out the weak. One way or another, you’re going to play the best teams and get a true test of who you are. The Phillies got that test this weekend. And they passed with flying colors.

They took Game one by a score of 3-2 on Friday night, with offseason addition Jesus Luzardo twirling a seven-inning, two hit, eight strikeout, scoreless gem against one of the most capable offenses in the league. Trea Turner got things started in the first inning, creating a run entirely on his own, doubling, stealing third, and advancing home on an errant throw. Dodgers’ starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto had the Phillies scuffling for the next five innings, but the Phils’ bats jumped on Kirby Yates - an All-Star a season ago and a guy who has shown the ability to be one of the top relief pitchers in baseball over the past few seasons. A two-run 7th inning, courtesy of the 8 and 9 hitters, Bryson Stott and Brandon Marsh, gave Jordan Romano a three-run cushion for the ninth frame. Romano struggled, allowing two earned runs, but ultimately saved the game, in large thanks to an electric game-ending strike ‘em out, throw ‘em out executed by JT Realmuto - who had thrown Shohei Ohtani out at second base to end the eighth inning. A defensive masterclass from the 34-year-old backstop saved their hides Friday night in South Philadelphia.

They didn’t have the same fortune Saturday afternoon, when Japanese import Roki Sasaki shut them down for the better part of four innings. It started the same as the night before, though, Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner jumping on the starter in the opening frame, this time Alec Bohm driving them in. But that’s all they would get in a 3-1 loss, to even the series, and set up the rubber match on Sunday between two of the National League’s best.

Game three was as exciting as a game on a Sunday in April can get. Cristopher Sanchez gave the Phils a decent outing, but struggled with the long ball, and struggled with Los Angeles slugger Teoscar Hernandez. Hernandez went 3-3 off of Sanchez with 2 home runs and a double, driving in all four runs Cristopher allowed. His day was done after 5 and two thirds, a far better outing than the LA hurler, Tyler Glasnow, who went just 2.0 innings after he completely unraveled in the third inning, being charged with five earned runs - four of which he didn’t surrender himself. Los Angeles reliever Alex Vesia came into the ballgame and on his first pitch allowed a grand slam to Nick Castellanos, which gave the Phils a 6-2 lead. 

By the time Sanchez left the game, the lead had shrunk to two, and Jordan Romano quickly allowed the Dodgers to cut that in half. On came Orion Kerkering, who inherited two Romano runners in scoring position, got two quick outs - allowing the tying run in the process - but gave up an RBI to Will Smith, giving the Dodgers the lead. 

The Dodgers are one of the best ball clubs in the league. They will not lie down and take a loss. Great teams come back and that’s what the Dodgers did. Bad teams go down 6-2, lose their starter after just two innings of work, roll over and take the loss. Not the Dodgers. They scored five unanswered runs to take the lead back. The Phillies had the perfect opportunity to prove they’re on that same level. And they did.

Bryce Harper started the bottom of the seventh with a double, Max Kepler walked, and again, the bottom of the order came through, courtesy of a Bryson Stott single and Edmundo Sosa groundout, driving in two runs and giving the Phils an 8-7 lead. Matt Strahm put the Dodgers down in order in the eighth, setting up Jose Alvarado for the ninth. He’d have to face the Dodgers’ best - their 1-2-3 hitters, Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Tommy Edman. Alvarado didn’t allow a base runner.

Just as Strahm did an inning before, Alvarado shut them down 1-2-3 and gave the Phillies the series victory over LA. The series was billed as a potential NLCS preview. That’s a long ways away and a lot can happen from now until then. The Dodgers are loaded, of course, and didn’t win last year’s Fall Classic by accident. But, the Phillies have their number. After taking 5 of 6 from LA a season ago, the Phils have kicked off 2025 by taking 2 of 3 from the defending champs. And they’ve done it through a strategy they haven’t been prone to in the past: small ball.

Notice how they scored their runs in this series. They hit just one home run - Casty’s 4-run blast - but even that was set up by four walks and a single. In the past, the Phillies have been criticized for constructing a lineup that had “one way to win.” That way was extra base hits. It’ll go down as an interesting experiment in MLB history, a lineup consisting of purely power hitters. Heck, their leadoff hitter was a 40 home run guy (of course, he still does leadoff at times). But this lineup and this team is different, despite the cast being virtually the same. Their approach is far different. They walk more, they take more pitches, they move runners over. It’s a strategy that’s worked for decades but teams have shied away from recently. But it’s a strategy that pretty much works all the time. You don’t have to worry about the bats going cold, as we’ve seen them do three Octobers in a row. With this strategy, you won’t see that.

It was an encouraging weekend, to say the least. The only question marks on the team are some members of the bullpen and Alec Bohm’s attitude. But for the most part, the Phillies look like a team that’s built to win - not just regular season games, but playoff ones, too.