Phillies offense explodes for a season-high 19 runs in a blowout of the Nationals

Before the Phillies took the field on Saturday afternoon, Rob Thomson was asked why his team has struggled to hit with runners in scoring position.

“I think it’s a matter of trying to do too much instead of just slowing the game down, passing the baton, getting good pitches to hit,” the Phillies manager said. “Using the field. It’s as simple as that, really.”

It was valid question at the time, but seemed ironic in hindsight. A few hours later, the Phillies scored a season-high 19 runs in a 19-4 win over the Washington Nationals. They hit four home runs — two from Alec Bohm and a grand slam by Kyle Schwarber — drew five walks, and recorded 18 hits. Nick Castellanos was a triple short of the cycle. It was an offensive shellacking.

The Phillies were built to slug but haven’t lived up to that identity in 2023. Some hitters have sometimes looked like they’re trying to hit a home run in each at-bat, swinging for the fences rather than just trying to make contact. But on Saturday they kept it simple, in Thomson’s words.

They were aggressive, but not in a reckless way. They made smart decisions on the basepaths and at the plate. They had good situational hitting. These are all things that good baseball teams do, but it was a far cry from what the Phillies had done the night before. Less 24 hours earlier after going 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position, they went 9-for-16.

Bryce Harper set the tone early. After the Nationals took a 1-0 lead in the second on Dominic Smith’s homer, he hit a line-drive double to left field in the bottom of the frame, an encouraging sign from a player who hasn’t showed much power lately.

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J.T. Realmuto followed with a flyout to center. Harper, tracking Realmuto’s ball, took off for third. It was an aggressive move, but an important one. He reached base safely and scored easily when Bohm hit a single two batters later.

“That was a big play,” Thomson said. “That set us up, one out, runner at third base, to get him in. You have to have balance in your aggression. But he was really good. He creates energy.”

With a 1-1 tie in hand, the Phillies proceeded to bombard MacKenzie Gore in the third inning. Schwarber and Trea Turner drew walks. Castellanos hit a single to load the bases. Harper grounded into a forceout that scored Schwarber, and Realmuto hit a single that scored Turner.

This went on for a while. By the end of the inning, the Phillies had batted around and driven in six runs. Gore exited after 2⅔ innings. It was his shortest outing of the season.

The Phillies did not let up against the Nationals’ bullpen. When the final out was recorded, every Phillies starter had recorded at least one hit. Five starters recorded multi-hit games, including Bohm, who went 4-for-5 with six RBIs, including his two homers.

In an 19-run day, this perhaps was the most important development. Bohm hasn’t shown much power of late. He started the season hitting .343/.421/.522 with three home runs through his first 18 games, leaving the Phillies optimistic that he’d found his power stroke. But Bohm hit only four home runs over his next 50 games — until Saturday.

His first home run came in the third inning, a 394-foot shot to left-center field off Gore. His second came in the fourth, a 365-foot shot, again, to left-center field. It was his third career multi-homer game.

He said afterward that he’s been working hard in the batting cage with hitting coach Kevin Long.

“[Just working on] just contact point really,” Bohm said. “Just trying to hit the ball a little further out in front and not letting it get deep on me.”

Added Thomson: “I’ve always thought that [he had power] all along because of the added strength that he put on during the offseason. Then he was on the injured list for a little bit, and it looks like he’s getting his swing back, and is hitting the ball the other way and getting the ball up in the air a little bit more, so that’s good.”

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The Phillies’ pitching staff was overshadowed on Saturday for obvious reasons, but it was a good game for it, too. Zack Wheeler saw velocity tick up a bit, and allowed little hard contact. He pitched five innings allowing seven hits, four runs, and no walks with six strikeouts.

Thomson decided to pull him at 85 pitches.

“I felt good,” Wheeler said. “I felt like my stuff got a little worse as the game went on. Curveball was really good early on, so I think I was trying to overthrow it as I got a little deeper into the game. But command was a little better. Cutter was a little better. Just a few hits in the hole and stuff. But I felt good about it.”

After Wheeler exited, relievers Andrew Vasquez and Dylan Covey combined for four scoreless innings, allowing only three hits with no walks. It was the eighth time this season that the Phillies have not walked anyone in a game, which ranks fifth in baseball.