A Look at the Phillies Series Win Over the Nationals

In the Phillies opening series of 2025 against the Nationals, the team came out firing on the mound with hot starts from Zack Wheeler and Jesús Luzardo. On the other side at the plate, the Phillies were able to overcome slow starts offensively to take the first two games in the series. With the performance of Kyle Schwarber and a flurry of home runs offensively, the Phillies put up 16 runs across the first two games. In the third game, the offense did not even get started until it was too late to come back from. Still, the Phillies leave the nation’s capital with a series win, putting themselves a half-a-game back from first place in the NL East. There is a lot to look at throughout the series, some might call in an early overreaction, but let's discuss some of the key factors in the series as a whole.

Contract Year Schwarber is Out to Prove Himself

As Kyle Schwarber enters the final year of his contract with the Phillies, he has come out to prove that he deserves a new contract in Philadelphia or anywhere in the MLB. One of the main topics throughout the offseason has been where can you put Schwarber in the lineup, leadoff, cleanup, or somewhere else. Through the first three games, Schwarber has been put in the leadoff spot and the cleanup spot in the lineup and performed in both roles. On Opening Day, Schwarber was placed in the cleanup spot where he went two for four with a home run, having arguably the best performance on the Phillies that day. In the past two games with Trea Turner leaving the lineup, Schwarber has re-entered as the leadoff spot and has performed well. In the past two games, he was three for nine with a home run and three RBIs. The Phillies will need to hop on a potential extension for Schwarber before it becomes too late for both sides to come up with a deal.

Phillies Star Players Showed Up When Called Upon

The Phillies roster is loaded with top-tier talent, none bigger than Bryce Harper and Zack Wheeler. In this series, the team learned that they can count on both players for potential big seasons this year. For Wheeler, he was given the start on Opening Day and he delivered a gem of a performance. Wheeler lasted for six innings and tallied eight strikeouts, while only giving up one run in the game. Wheeler will look to have a similar season as last year where he ended up being second in the NL Cy Young race, however, hopefully come up with the award this year. As for Harper, he is called “the Showman” for a reason because he comes up in the clutch moments. In the first game against the Nationals, the Phillies’ offense couldn’t get anything going offensively midway through the game. With that, Harper stepped up in the seventh inning and delivered a homerun to tie the game up. Harper is the engine that makes the Phillies run, so having that type of performance is something that the Phillies need to reach their goals.

Arrival of New Pieces and Resurgence of Familiar Pieces

Heading into the start of 2025, the Phillies returned with a roster that the majority of its players had spent 2024 with the club. The front office run by Dave Dombrowski only made a handful of moves in the offseason, with the additions of Max Kepler, Jesús Luzardo, and Jordan Romano. Talking specifically about Luzardo, he joined an elite rotation and proved he can be a quality starter and provide impact for the Phillies. In his first start, he went five innings with 11 strikeouts but gave up two runs. A solid performance for what he hopes is a good year to come. One other player to look for has been Alec Bohm, who has been with the team for several years now. It is Bohm specifically when there are two outs with RISP and his ability to deliver in the situation. Bohm batted a .358 batting average during these situations and again on Opening day that situation occurred. Bohm came up to the plate in the top of the 10th inning with runners in scoring position and delivered a double to score both runners, giving the Phillies the lead. The Phillies’ new additions and the ‘growing up’ of younger players like Bryson Stott, Brandon Marsh, and Alec Bohm will give the Phillies a different look than before.