Can the Phillies Recent Series Win Be the Spark to Turn Their Season Around?
The Phillies’ 2025 season so far this year has been full of highs and lows. The team jumped out to an early 7-2 record, which included a series win over the then-undefeated Dodgers. However, since that series, the Phillies have been a completely different team. The team’s record has dropped to 13-12 after being swept by the New York Mets this week, which caused fans to start to panic about the team. However, the Phillies picked up a massive series win over the Chicago Cubs to push their record back above .500. The series win was a full team effort; the offense came alive in the second game of the series while the pitching held it down in the series finale. With the Phillies performing like they did in this series, could the win be a turning point for the rest of the season ahead?
The simple answer is yes, it was a pivotal series win that could wake up and shake the funk that much of the team has faced up to this point. Specifically talking about Aaron Nola, who started the season winless, with a 0-5 record. Nola in the series finale had arguably his best performance of the year up to this point and looked like the Aaron Nola that Phillies fans are used to seeing. In his appearance, Nola went seven innings while only allowing one run on three hits. Staying on the topic of pitching, the Phillies have faced bullpen struggles all year up to this point, and the group has been among the worst in the MLB. However, in the final two games of the series, the group performed extremely well and held it down late for the Phillies. The team saw big performances in game two from Joe Ross and Carlos Hernandez, who each went scoreless in their appearance. Additionally, in game three, the Phillies yet again got quality performances from members of their bullpen. This time it came from Orion Kerkering, Jose Alvardo, and Jordan Romano. Specifically on the performance of Romano, this shutdown performance is huge for the Phillies heading down the rest of the season. Up to that point, Romano had a 13.50 ERA in his appearances this season, however, he shut down the Cubs’ lineup in the final inning to secure the Phillies the win.
As for the Phillies’ offense, the group had gone completely cold till game two of the Cubs series. In the second game, however, the group came alive and recorded 10 runs in the game. Not only that, it was the players who were producing the runs, and the offense was the most important thing. Starting with Max Kepler, who hit a home run late in the game to push the Phillies to the double-digit mark. Up to that point, Kepler had struggled throughout the season and was coming up short in key moments in situations. In the series, it was not the case, as he raised his batting average to 0.267 and forced a walk late in the third game, which then resulted in the Phillies’ second insurance run to give them the win. Sticking with the third game, the Phillies had the bases loaded in extra innings, and up to this point, the team had struggled mightily to produce when the bases were loaded. In this game, however, that was not the case as the Phillies drove in two runs to push the score to 3-1 and eventually give them the win along with the series win. Having all sides of the team click is something that is extremely crucial for the Phillies, as it is for any team in baseball. Yet, seeing some positives from each player at each position could be the spark to get the Phillies back on track.
