In search of their second consecutive NL East division title, the 2025 Philadelphia Phillies have been well-rounded in just about every aspect of the game. They can out-pitch and out-slug most teams, but what sets this Phillies team apart from those in years past is their strong defense.
Their 52 errors as a team are the third-fewest in the league and are an impressive decrease from their 85 errors committed in 2024 and 99 in 2023. However, some of these errant plays have occurred in the past week and were basic in nature, which could end up proving costly at the worst time this October.
Phillies' recent struggles with basic rundowns could haunt them in the postseason
On two separate occasions over the past week, the Phillies had a runner picked off of first base and were unable to complete the rundown to secure the easy out. The first came during their nightmare series against the New York Mets at Citi Field and it broke a tied game open. In the fifth inning of their 13-3 blowout defeat, Cristopher Sánchez caught Juan Soto leaning and a rundown ensued.
First baseman Bryce Harper had a clear throwing lane to Bryson Stott, but fed Stott his throw well too late in the pickle instead of releasing the ball immediately after chasing Soto towards the second base bag. The ball was dropped by Stott, and the play was originally ruled an "E4" on the sure-handed second baseman.
It was later determined by official scorers that Soto would've been safe even if Stott made the catch, so the error was wiped and what would've been the second out of the inning turned into the game-winning run for the Mets after Soto scored three batters later. It was the fourth of a season-high six earned runs by Sánchez that night.
Then, in front of a national audience on Sunday Night Baseball, another basic baseball rundown was botched by the Phillies. This time it was Jesús Luzardo that had the Atlanta Braves' Michael Harris Jr. picked off, and the rundown started off better than the last, with Harper throwing to Stott early in the play. Harper then confusingly ran towards Stott without the ball instead of staying stationary.
Stott's throw from close range ended up going into foul territory, but thankfully Harris Jr. was unable to advance and Luzardo was able to get out of the inning unharmed after the mental error by Harper. Matt Gelb of The Athletic summed up how Phillies fans feel after seeing their team botch two simple rundowns in late August.
Every advance scouting report on Phillies will note their issues with rundowns between first and second base. That's two botched ones in six days.
— Matt Gelb (@MattGelb) September 1, 2025
It's quite a welcome surprise that the Phillies are finally a solid defenseive team. Trea Turner has put in the work with infield coach Bobby Dickerson to transform himself into an above-average defender at shortstop. They traded for Gold Glover Harrison Bader to patrol center field and are starting to pull Nick Castellanos late in games in favor of a defensive replacement, much to the veteran's displeasure.
The Phillies have done a superb job of improving their defense this season but they cannot afford to keep messing up simple rundowns like we've seen lately because defense reigns supreme in playoff baseball, where even the most minute error could send a team packing for the season.