What would you think if you heard that Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber both got injured in the same game and were subsequently placed on the 10-day IL? It’s hard to believe that your first thought would be that the Philadelphia Phillies would still be No. 1 in MLB.com’s Power Rankings.
Phillies reclaim top spot in MLB Power Rankings despite rocky week
The Phillies were in the No. 2 spot last week, only behind the New York Yankees. The Yankees are on a bit of a cold streak, with a 3-7 record in their last 10 games, which has allowed the Phillies to take over the No. 1 spot yet again and the best record in the MLB.
The top teams have been consistent for some time now between the Phillies, Yankees and Baltimore Orioles. The Los Angeles Dodgers have also been poking around near the top spot.
The Phillies are past the halfway point in the season with a 55-29 record and are 6-4 in their last 10 games. However, the past week hasn’t been easy for the top team in baseball.
The Phillies started the week with a three-game series in Detroit in which they won the series 2-1. They won the opener 8-1 behind a stellar start from Aaron Nola and 15 hits by the offense, but the hitters did combine for 17 strikeouts which is an absurd number. That was followed up with a 4-1 loss in a poor performance by the offense and Ranger Suárez, who allowed eight hits and two earned runs over six innings.
The Phillies bounced back with a 6-2 win to close out the series, but the team received bad news as Spencer Turnbull went down with an injury after three innings with a right lat strain, landing himself on the 15-day IL.
After a quick trip to Detroit, the Phillies returned home to take on the NL East last place Miami Marlins in a four-game series. The Phillies dropped the first game 7-4 in a game in which we saw two of the team’s most dominant relievers, Matt Strahm and Jeff Hoffman, allow a combined three earned runs as well as both Harper and Schwarber getting injured. They bounced back with a 2-0 victory thanks to a complete game shutout by Cristopher Sánchez before losing 3-2 the next day.
The last game of the series was extremely sloppy, but one that the Fightins were able to come from behind and win 7-6 to split the series. It was another poor performance by Suárez, who allowed nine hits, two walks, six earned runs and couldn’t make it through five innings. The usually dominant lefty didn’t even record a strikeout. The Phillies had five errors but overcame the sloppy defense and run deficit largely because of terrific days at the plate from Alec Bohm, Nick Castellanos and the birthday boy Trea Turner.
The Phillies are missing some key players in Harper, Schwarber, Turnbull and J.T. Realmuto, but the rest of the team is still staying afloat and stepping up in their absences. Rob Thomson’s squad will have their limits tested with series against the Atlanta Braves and Dodgers coming up before the All-Star break.