7 bright spots from the Phillies' 2023 season

The Philadelphia Phillies' 2023 season might not have ended the way the team or fans wanted it to, but there were still plenty of memorable moments throughout the year. 

For the first time since their 102-win season in 2011, the Phillies got to 90 wins, finishing the year 90-72 and in first place in the National League Wild Card standings. A year after the team's improbable World Series run, Philadelphia was looking to make it back to the Fall Classic in back-to-back seasons like it did in 2008 and 2009. After dispatching the Miami Marlins and Atlanta Braves in quick succession, the team let a 2-0 National League Championship Series lead slip away, losing to the Arizona Diamondbacks in seven games. 

As the offseason — and some tough decisions — looms, let's set the disappointment aside and take a moment to reflect on some of the bright spots that fans were treated to during the 2023 season.

Welcome to the big leagues, Johan Rojas

Center fielder Johan Rojas wasn't expected to see the major leagues in 2023. When Cristian Pache was put on the injured list with an elbow issue stemming from a previous surgery in July, though, the Phillies turned to their young prospect to fill a hole in the outfield. 

In his debut in the big leagues, he wasted no time flashing his defensive ability. In the first game of July 15's doubleheader against the San Diego Padres, Rojas was in center with no outs, Ha-Seong Kim on first after a single and Fernando Tatis Jr. at the plate. What followed was a beautiful, unconventional double play:

The Phillies went on to take both games of the doubleheader. 

After the games, Matt Gelb of The Athletic had comments from Kyle Schwarber about the effect young players can have on the energy for others: "A kid who, it seems like, he's just happy to be at the baseball field every day. And those things can be refreshing, especially you get guys that come up and they're getting their first taste of the big leagues. It can bring you back to your first time when you got called up."

What could be better than playing a role in a doubleheader sweep? How about getting your first career walk-off hit to clinch a spot in the playoffs for your team. 

On September 26, Rojas stepped to the plate in the bottom of the 10th inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates with the score tied 2-2 and "ghost runner" Pache on second. He sent the fourth pitch he saw right back through the middle, plating the winning run and sending this team back to the postseason:

Not a bad introduction for the rookie.

Michael Lorenzen tosses a no-hitter in his home debut

On Aug. 1, the Phillies traded for Michael Lorenzen at the deadline, sending infield prospect Hao-Yu Lee to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for the right-handed pitcher. 

In his debut with the team, he went eight strong innings, giving up two earned runs in a road win against the Miami Marlins. Six days later, on Aug. 9, he faced the Washington Nationals in his home debut at Citizens Bank Park.

The first inning was a bit of a struggle for the 31-year-old, as he walked one on his way to throwing 24 pitches. Inning No. 2 didn't start much better when he walked catcher Keibert Ruiz on five pitches. He settled in after, though, getting through the inning on 14 pitches and keeping things in check for the rest of the game. 

Overall, he issued four walks and had five strikeouts, needing 124 pitches to get the job done and close the first no-hitter for the Phillies since Cole Hamels accomplished the feat back in 2015. It was the first time the Nationals had been no-hit since moving to Washington, D.C., the end of an 18-year streak, according to Jessica Camerato of MLB.com.

After the game, Lorenzen told reporters: "Coolest moment of my baseball career, going out there for the ninth. … Just going out of the dugout and hearing the fans go wild, it gave me the chills."

Lorenzen's pitching masterpiece overshadowed a couple of other impressive Phillies milestones that happened in the game.

In his major league debut after over 700 games in the minors, Weston Wilson homered during his first at-bat, ensuring he wouldn't have to wait to have his first long ball in the big leagues. Right fielder Nick Castellanos collected two home runs in the 7-0 win, the second of which marked the 200th of his career. 

The spotlight was firmly on Lorenzen, however, and the 14th no-hitter in Phillies history. 

Bryce Harper goes the unconventional route to round the bases

On Aug. 21 against the San Francisco Giants, Bryce Harper stepped to the plate in the bottom of the fifth with his team up 4-2. He sent the fourth pitch he saw into center field. While he barely missed a traditional, over-the-wall long ball, he decided he wouldn't be cheated out of a homer.

With some help from some bobbling from Wade Meckler in center field, Harper was able to make it a round-trip affair, staking the club to a 5-2 lead while pulling off one of the most exciting plays in baseball.

"I saw it was over [Meckler's] head. Any time after that, it hits that wall, it gets a pretty good kick, you have a pretty good chance. I was thinking, 'I really don't like hitting triples, so I might as well try to get to home.' I was just watching [third-base coach] Dusty [Wathan]," Harper said when walking through the play after the game, according to Todd Zolecki of MLB.com.

Speaking of bases, it'd be a shame not to give catcher J.T. Realmuto — who happened to have the last inside-the-park home run for the Phillies in 2022 — a brief mention here as well.

If you look at the result from June 12, you'd see a 9-8 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks. If you take a look at the box score, you'll see the makings of a rare feat. Realmuto went 4-for-4 on the day with a single, double, triple and home run, becoming only the 17th catcher in baseball to hit for the cycle. It was the first time a Phillies player accomplished it since David Bell pulled it off in 2004.

Nick Castellanos sends John Kruk, fans on a roller coaster

Knowing it was likely the team would need to face the Atlanta Braves in the postseason, the Phillies were trying to close out their regular-season series against their division rivals on a positive note. Having already split the three-game series at 1-1, they headed into their Sept. 20 matchup looking to build momentum.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, Atlanta was facing closer Craig Kimbrel. After a leadoff walk to Sean Murphy, Atlanta put Luke Williams in as a pinch-runner, and he quickly stole second base, putting the winning run in scoring position. Kimbrel struck out Michael Harris II on three pitches, but Williams stole third. With one out, Orlando Arcia was able to work out a seven-pitch at-bat. On the seventh pitch, he popped the ball into foul territory down the right field line.

The whiplash of emotions that followed was best summed up by Phillies legend John Kruk on the broadcast:

Instead of letting the ball fall foul, right fielder Nick Castellanos turned, got his feet set, made the catch and fired a perfect strike to home plate, nailing Williams at home plate and sending the game into extra innings.

After the game, manager Rob Thomson and teammates admitted that they were hoping the outfielder would let the ball drop foul. When speaking to Matt Gelb of The Athletic, though, Castellanos noted that he relied on the voice in his head: "Usually he just pops up when I'm hitting. You know? Like, don't take this 2-0 pitch."

He went on to add what the voice said to him on this play: "Catch it. Throw him out."

The Phillies went on to win 6-5 in 10 innings. As it turns out, this victory kick-started a seven-game winning streak during which the Phillies clinched a spot in the playoffs.

Atta-boy, Harper

Game 2 of the National League Division Series ended with Bryce Harper getting doubled up at first base on a long fly ball after a great play by center fielder Michael Harris II.

In the clubhouse after his team's win, Atlanta Braves shortstop Orlando Arcia decided it would be a good idea to go around the room full of reporters saying, "Atta-boy, Harper."

Fast-forward to Game 3 in Philadelphia and it was clear early that the players had heard their opponent's taunting.

Atlanta took a 1-0 lead to the bottom of the third, but it didn't last long. After Castellanos led off the inning with a game-tying home run, Harper stepped into the batter's box with two on and two out. Four pitches later, the Phillies had a 4-1 lead.

While he rounded second base, Harper made sure to give Arcia a glance:

In his next at-bat in the bottom of the fifth, Harper added another one that was just out of reach of Harris in center field to extend the lead to 7-1. And he made sure to let Arcia know, yet again, that his comments were heard and not appreciated as he rounded the bases:

In the postgame press conference, Harper relayed what his teammates said to him before the game: “My teammates, they just kind of told me [what he said]. They looked at me, and they were like, 'What are you going to do?'"

Taijuan Walker knew everyone was in for something special, according to Matt Gelb of The Athletic: "He's built for these moments. We all knew when he showed up and didn't say a word. He was just locked in from right when he showed up. We just said, 'OK. He's going to do something crazy today.' And he did it twice. He almost did it three times."

Besides a 10-2 Game 3 win and a 2-1 series lead, one of the best pictures in the history of the sport came out of the matchup.

Bryson Stott's grand slam heard around the world

The Phillies entered the postseason as the No. 1 Wild Card, setting themselves up for a matchup against the Miami Marlins. In the regular season, they went 6-7 against their division foes.

After taking Game 1, the Phillies were looking to put a quick end to the series. With the team already up 3-0, Philadelphia was trying to put the Marlins away in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Following an error by third baseman Jake Burger, Bryson Stott stepped to the plate with the bases loaded, left-handed reliever Andrew Nardi on the mound and the fans singing "A-O-K." Up to that point, Stott had been one of the most patient batters on the team. As Tim Britton of The Athletic noted, the 26-year-old had only swung at 16 percent of the first pitches he saw.

Stott, who had struggled last year against fastballs, turned on the first pitch he saw — a four-seamer that was up and in.

It was the first grand slam of his career, and the second in Phillies postseason history.

After the game, Stott admitted that he didn't remember doing the bat spike, but he told Todd Zolecki of MLB.com: "I got chills the first two times I watched [the video]. Just to hear the stadium playing my walkup song again after the [mound visit] kind of got the crowd back. Obviously, they were into it. But back into the song and into the at-bat."

That gave the ballclub a 7-0 lead, and the Phillies would go on to win 7-1 and advance to the National League Division Series.