Don't look now, but the Philadelphia Phillies came back to Citizens Bank Park with a 24-16 record for a six-game homestand off the heels of a 5-1 road trip, where they swept the Tampa Bay Rays and won two out of three against an American League contender in the Cleveland Guardians.
This quality of play is what is expected from the Phillies and they’re 2.5 games behind the New York Mets for first in the NL East. The recent stretch has them rising in this week's MLB Power Rankings as well, as they get their due respect as one of the top contenders in the league.
Phillies' near-perfect road trip has them back near the top of MLB's Power Rankings
In this week's rankings by Will Leitch from MLB.com, the Phillies rank just outside the top five. Their current spot as the sixth-best team in the league is an improvement from their previous ranking of No. 9. The lowest point of the Phillies' season so far was being swept at the hands of the Mets, then looking lifeless in a shutout loss in Chicago versus the Cubs, which saw them sink to the .500 mark at 13-13 and fall out of the top 10 to No. 13 in the following week's MLB.com rankings.
That's the lowest the Phillies have been this year in MLB.com's Power Rankings, and it's hard to believe they'll place any lower for the remainder of the season. Since the 0-4 start to that New York/Chicago road trip near the end of April, the Phillies are 11-4 and have won five consecutive series.
The Phillies might be fully back, as over their last road trip, Ranger Suárez and Zack Wheeler delivered back-to-back starts of seven shutout innings and Kyle Schwarber won't stop homering. The Phillies are also getting praise in power rankings elsewhere, as Bleacher Report has them ranked sixth, with CBS Sports placing them inside the top five.
They opened the homestand on Monday by dropping the series opener against the Cardinals, who have now won nine straight. After the three-game Cardinals series, the Phillies enjoy an off-day on Thursday then welcome in the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates over the weekend. As long as they handle business against teams like the Pirates amid their light May schedule, the Phillies should rank even higher by the end of the month.