The Phillies just closed August with a record of 21-7, tied for the 10th-best month by winning percentage in club history. The run was capped by a 2-1 victory to start things off in Arizona, following a sweep of the Angels and, before that, two memorable home sweeps of the Marlins and Cardinals. With the pieces clicking the way they are, in the exact stretch of the calendar where it matters most, it's hard not to feel like this club is getting hot when they know they need to.
Phillies are throwing it back to 1991, but better
This is the first time the Phillies have swept four series of three games or more in a given month since August 1991.
— Cole Weintraub (@WeintraubCole) August 30, 2026
The 1991 Phillies went 20-9 that August, their best month since 1983, but that team was constructed a little different than the current roster — they finished 78-84, in third place, 20 games back of the division. That Phillies squad had its own share of outliers, though. Closer Mitch Williams somehow racked up eight wins out of the bullpen in the month alone, a bizarre stat padded by a stretch of walk-off and extra-inning finishes that had no business producing that many decisions for one reliever.
John Kruk quietly had the best season of his career that year, hitting .294 with 21 homers and 92 RBI, yet still finished just 17th in MVP voting on a team the rest of baseball had already stopped paying attention to. Great individual moments, buried on a roster that just wasn't good enough to do anything with them. And unfortunately, a great August was just that: a fun highlight that helped make them an average team. That's exactly why this year's version has brought more validation and excitement.
This isn't a bad team having one hot month. This is a team that was already fighting for a Wild Card spot, riding a real turnaround since Don Mattingly took over in the spring, and then used August to turn a feel-good Phillies story into a dangerous outcome for the rest of Major League Baseball. The roster has been built to win for years now. So now, you throw in some of the strategic trade deadline moves, and the good chemistry the guys are playing with — you can absolutely see why the boys are rolling into September.
And the pitching is where it starts for me. Cristopher Sánchez has been the most valuable pitcher in the National League by WAR this season, a legitimate NL Cy Young threat again after finishing runner-up last year. Andrew Painter has looked every bit the part since getting his call back up, most recently throwing seven strong innings with eight strikeouts against the Cardinals.
Aaron Nola has completely turned his season around, dropping his ERA below 5.00 for the first time since April on the back of a 2.50 mark over his last seven starts. Even Zack Wheeler, who battled an 8.38 ERA over a rough four-start stretch, looked like himself again in Sunday's series-clinching win, sitting 95-plus with real life on his fastball. The bullpen has had its shaky moments, but the deadline addition of Brooks Raley has given Mattingly more options late in games, and Jhoan Duran closing out games makes me feel good.
And let's not sleep on Bryson Stott. Since shifting to third base to make room for Luis Arraez, he's been one of the best players in baseball, both offensively and defensively, sitting second in all of MLB in FanGraphs WAR since early June while picking up a new position without missing a beat.
It's the kind of story that gets buried under Schwarber's home run chase, Bryce Harper and Alec Bohm absolutely crushing the baseball and the pitching staff's turnaround, but it shouldn't be. With Atlanta and the Cubs both still catchable and an aging core that knows its championship window won't stay open forever, this team is getting hot at exactly the right time.
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