After dropping six straight series, the Philadelphia Phillies were able to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers to win their first series since before the All-Star break. The momentum continued on Thursday night as the club took the first contest of a four-game series against a familiar foe, the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Slumps happen over the course of a long season, but the funk that plagued the Phillies seemed to affect all parts of the game. Over the past week, the team has been showing signs of turning things around and getting back to playing the type of baseball many fans became accustomed to earlier this summer.
The Phillies finally look like themselves again
The Phillies have now won three straight games and have taken four of their last five. Over that span, they have outscored their opponents 30-15. It seems like the offense is coming around as key players and role players have come up with timely knocks and the pitching staff is starting to get its feel back.
Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber have been warming up at the plate. Over his last seven games, the Phillies' first baseman has 10 hits in his last 30 at-bats. This comes after a rough stretch for Harper over the course of the lineup's temporary lapse.
Schwarber has been on a tear. In his last seven games, the 31-year-old slugger is hitting .483 with a 1.103 slugging percentage. On Wednesday night, the designated hitter bashed three home runs on his way to a seven RBI performance.
J.T. Realmuto broke out of his slump in a big way
In Thursday night's victory, the Phillies received contributions from two of their colder hitters, J.T. Realmuto and Trea Turner. The shortstop came up big with a two-run single in the sixth inning to give the Phillies their first lead of the night.
Realmuto — who missed about a month after a meniscus repair — had just eight hits in his first 12 games back in the lineup heading into Thursday night. Each of those hits were singles. The Phillies' backstop changed that with a seventh-inning 430-foot home run. Getting some power back out of Realmuto is key to this lineup.
After the game, Realmuto spoke about his feel at the plate, per Corey Seidman of NBC Sports Philadelphia.
"It felt good to barrel a couple of balls up finally," Realmuto said, per Seidman. "I was watching video with (hitting coach Kevin Long) yesterday and we found some things mechanically. My bat just wasn't staying in the zone very long, kinda losing my barrel. I was late on fastballs, early on off-speed so just kinda in between. I just tried to work on cleaning my bat path up."
Phillies pitching has started to right the ship
The pitching has been better, too. Since their win on Sunday in the series finale in Seattle, the Phillies' starting pitchers have a 3.00 ERA over 30 innings pitched. Over that span, they are 4-1 and have allowed just two home runs.
While some relievers are struggling more than others, the bullpen overall seems to have found a groove. During the club's rough patch, the bullpen had its worst stretch of the season. Since Sunday, the relief corps has a 3.21 ERA over 14 innings. They have kept some of the more potent offenses in the National League in check.
The Phillies look to be emerging from their month-long slump. The offense is heating up and the pitching has rebounded despite some injuries. The club will look to continue clicking to not just hold but build on their lead in the NL East. After all, hot teams tend to advance in the postseason, so the Phillies will want to enter October with momentum on their side.