Phillies offense finding its stride as schedule soon eases

After struggling for quite some time, the Phillies offense is finally hitting its stride. This comes as the schedule gets much easier in the month of July.

After the Phillies reached the top of the NL East for a brief time, their offense completely shut down. For two weeks from May 27 to June 9, they held the league’s second-worst weighted on-base average (.267) and OPS (.602). They had the third-fewest home runs (nine) and second-fewest runs scored (39). The team struck out more often than anyone else in this time.

During these offensive struggles, Philadelphia had a 3-10 record, falling from first place all the way to 4.5 games behind the division lead. At often times during this stretch, they had plenty of opportunities to score runs, but simply failed to convert.

Thankfully, things are finally looking up for this team. They are 6-2 in their last eight games, picking up two consecutive series wins for the first time in two months. The offense has played a huge part in this recent turnaround.

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Heading into Tuesday night’s matchup with the Cardinals, Philadelphia ranks eighth in wOBA and seventh in OPS since June 10. They have 12 home runs and 42 runs scored, good for seventh and fifth-best in the league in this time. Their strikeout rate has dropped dramatically to 23.5 percent (15th in the league) while leading the National League with an 11.4 percent walk rate.

This offensive turnaround has been sparked by several hitters performing far better at the plate. Rhys Hoskins came off the disabled list June 9 and has been on fire since then. In nine games since returning, he has four home runs, 11 hits, five walks, and a 1.135 OPS.

Odubel Herrera, who struggled once he lost his on-base streak, now has three home runs in his last four games with nine hits since he was benched for a game during the Rockies series. Even J.P. Crawford has found his plate discipline again, walking in 17.9 percent of his plate appearances since returning from the disabled list.