With the MLB season two months into the year, the Philadelphia Phillies have turned the corner after a slow start. The team has skyrocketed in this week's MLB.com Power Rankings to the No .1 spot as Memorial Day weekend concludes, thanks to the Phillies being the hottest team in baseball. The rest of the top five includes the Los Angeles Dodgers, Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees and Chicago Cubs.
The Phillies' farthest drop this season went as low as No. 13 on the rankings. But after a nine-game winning streak, and being winners in eight of the last nine series played since being swept by the New York Mets, this rise takes the Phillies from No. 6 a week ago to the top spot. The Phillies have swept three teams since their five-game losing streak: the Pittsburgh Pirates, Colorado Rockies and Tampa Bay Rays.
The Phillies enter Tuesday with the best record in the National League and the best winning percentage in the majors. The Phillies are known for having a good home record, but on top of that, the Phillies are tied for the most road victories on the season.
It’s easy to look at the nine-game win streak and say, "Well, look at the opponents." However, the Phillies' recent hot stretch includes series wins over the Cleveland Guardians, Cubs and Arizona Diamondbacks. Overall this season, the Phillies' series record is 13-4-1. In addition to the list above, they've also beaten the Dodgers.
Phillies starting to click on all cylinders leading to most recent hot stretch and best in baseball
In this stretch, the Phillies have been led on offense by power hitter Kyle Schwarber, who is tied for the second-most home runs with 18. Shortstop Trea Turner at the top of the lineup is hitting .340 in May with eight stolen bases, leading to 20 runs scored. Third baseman Alec Bohm, who was struggling, has turned the page on his slow start with a .341 batting average in May.
The Phillies' starting pitching, led by Zack Wheeler and Jesús Luzardo, has been the strongest unit for the team this season. Wheeler now leads the MLB in quality starts with nine. He has posted a 0.68 ERA in May while striking out 31 in four starts, and has pitched seven consecutive quality starts. Luzardo has been excellent himself, with a season record of 5-0 while posting a 2.15 ERA with 77 strikeouts in 11 games.
While those two are the standouts, the starting pitching as a whole has been next-level and has shown depth. Starting with Mick Abel’s spot start and Taijuan Walker’s rebound season that continues to go well. Ranger Suárez is off the IL and, after one bad outing, has followed with three straight quality starts.
The bullpen continues to be the position group this team will need to figure out, led by Jordan Romano, who just saw his nine consecutive scoreless appearances come to an end, allowing his first runs of the month. As a whole, the bullpen has improved, but still needs more after being shorthanded thanks to José Alvarado's suspension. The team will look to step up and fill the absence.
This Phillies team continues to grow and find ways to win, despite two recent hiccups with the pitching. Even though Aaron Nola was sent to the IL and the news about Alvarado, this Phillies team keeps winning. Now back home for a six-game homestand, the competition gets a little tougher, with teams hovering around .500. The Phillies begin a three-game set with the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday and welcome the Milwaukee Brewers for three games on the weekend as they look to stay hot and the best team in baseball.