Phillies at the break: Where they stand, key numbers and what’s ahead the rest of the way

This is the 14th time in their history the Phillies have been in sole possession of first place at the All-Star break. Seven times they made the playoffs, like in 1993 and 2008. Six times they did not, such as 1964 and 2018 — the last time they were in first at the break.

Here are some random thoughts to pass the time until the season resumes on Friday in Pittsburgh.

Where the Phillies were in the NL East standings at the All-Star break in the Bryce Harper era:

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There are 15 other teams in baseball besides the Phillies with a winning record at the All-Star break. The Phillies will play 11 of them in the second half of the season, including a series of land mines starting Monday. A look at their remaining schedule:

Friday-Sunday, at Pittsburgh (48-48 at the break): The Phillies figure to get their first look this weekend at rookie fireballer Skenes, who started the All-Star Game for the National League. Skenes is 6-0 with a 1.90 ERA and 89 strikeouts in 11 starts. Since we’re on the subject, the most strikeouts ever by an opposing rookie pitcher against the Phillies is 16 by Dwight Gooden in 1984. Worth noting that Gooden pitched just eight innings that mesmerizing night at Veterans Stadium.

Monday-Wednesday, at Minnesota (54-42): Third baseman Jose Miranda, who recently tied the record with hits in 12 consecutive at-bats, was put on the 10-day injured list with back tightness retroactive to July 11, so he’ll be eligible to return for this series. Miranda is hitting .325. He hit .211 last year in 40 games. He’s never faced any of the Phillies’ starters.

July 26-28, vs. Cleveland (58-37): The Guardians are 7-11 since June 26, and 28-26 for the season on the road. Funkiest thing they’ve done — besides unexpectedly jump out to the lead in the AL Central — is when first baseman Josh Naylor and younger brother catcher Bo Naylor homered in the same inning on National Siblings Day on April 10. When asked if he knew it was Siblings Day, Bo replied, “Not a clue.” He’s not alone.

July 29-31, vs. New York Yankees (58-40): Aaron Judge, who leads the majors with 34 home runs, has just two bombs in 35 at-bats in his career against the Phillies. His last homer was off Austin Davis in an empty Citizens Bank Park in 2020. Wow. Austin Davis.

Aug. 2-4, at Seattle (52-46): Mariners starter Logan Gilbert leads the league in innings pitched (132⅓) and WHIP (0.869). Seattle led the AL West by 10 games on June 18. The Mariners are up one game at the All-Star break. Now that’s a serious collapse.

Aug. 5-7, at L.A. Dodgers (56-41): The Dodgers’ rotation is a mess, but Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Clayton Kershaw could be back by this series. L.A. is wounded, but the Phillies would do well to remember last year’s visit to Dodger Stadium when they lost by scores of 10-6, 13-1, and 13-4.

Aug. 8-11, at Arizona (49-48): Speaking of 2023 nightmares, here’s a four-game set against last year’s NLCS opponent. Shame Christian Walker (Kennedy-Kenrick) wasn’t picked for the All-Star team. He’s third in the NL in homers (22), fifth in RBIs (66) and 10th in OPS (.837). And he’s probably the best defensive first baseman in the league.

Aug. 13-14, vs. Miami (33-63): Finally. A break in the schedule with two games against the hapless Marlins, who have a history of torturing the Phillies in August and September.

Aug. 15-18, vs. Washington (44-53): Free-agent first baseman Juan Yepez had his contract selected on July 5 and has hit safely in all 10 games he’s played, the longest streak for a player to start his stint for the Nationals (since 2005), according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Yepez is 14-for-37 (.378).

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Aug. 20-22, at Atlanta (53-42): Matt Olson, who led the majors with 54 home runs last year and set a team record with 29 in the first half, has 13 home runs this year and is hitting .229. Two of his homers this year are against the Phillies: one off Aaron Nola, one off Michael Mercado.

Aug. 23-25, at Kansas City (52-45): Shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. is third in the league with a .323 average and first in hits with 125. It’s the most hits ever by a Royals player in the first half of the season (with an asterisk). George Brett had 123 hits in 1979, while playing in six fewer games because the All-Star break was earlier that season.

Aug. 26-28, vs. Houston (50-46): The Astros had been on a 17-4 run before dropping their last two before the break. Hate to pick on the local kid, but Chas McCormick is having the worst year of his career. He’s hitting .203 with just three with 22 homers last year. He will also be remembered (or cursed, depending on your point of view) for that spectacular catch in Game 5 of the 2022 World Series. In fact, that was the last time the Astros played a game in Philadelphia.

Aug. 29-Sept. 1, vs. Atlanta (53-42): Pitcher Reynaldo Lopez is one of the best stories of the first half. He was a middle reliever last year for three teams (White Sox, Angels, Guardians), but was given the chance to start by Atlanta and is 7-3 with a 1.88 ERA. The last time he started a game in Philadelphia was in 2019. Drew Smyly, Suárez, Mike Morin, and Blake Parker were the Phillies pitchers that day.

Sept. 3-4, at Toronto (44-52): It’s been a disappointing year for the Jays, who won 89 games last season to sneak into the playoffs. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has been one of the few bright spots. He entered the break with seven home runs and a .992 OPS in his last 21 games.

Sept. 5-8, at Miami (33-63): The Marlins’ only All-Star is reliever Tanner Scott, who is a free agent after the season. Look for him to be traded soon.

Sept. 9-11, vs. Tampa Bay (48-48): Randy Arozarena, who stunningly won the 2020 ALCS MVP even before he qualified as a rookie, is batting a career-low .202. Entering June, he was hitting .158.

Sept. 13-15, vs. N.Y. Mets (49-46): The earliest the Phillies have ever clinched a division was on Sept. 17 in 2011. Would be nice to beat that mark against the rival Mets.

Sept. 16-18, at Milwaukee (55-42): Devin Williams, who exploded onto the scene last year as a closer with career highs of 36 saves and a 1.53 ERA, has not pitched this season after stress fractures were found in his back in the spring. He’s getting close to a return, which should only help a Brewers bullpen that impressively is still third in the league with a 3.35 ERA. Trevor McGill has been pretty effective closing games for the first time in his career, converting 18 of 20 saves.

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Sept. 19-22, at N.Y. Mets (49-46): But then again, clinching in New York wouldn’t be so bad, either.

Sept. 23-25, vs. Chicago Cubs (47-51): Cubs All-Star Shota Imanaga was so exhausted by baristas mispronouncing his name that whenever he goes to Starbucks he just puts the order under the name of “Mike.” Incidentally, his name is pronounced SHOW-tah.

Sept. 27-29, at Washington (44-53): Hopefully, the NL’s top seed will be all sewn up and we can sweat out the Eagles’ 1 p.m. game at Tampa Bay on that Sunday.

The Phillies are 62-34, the second-highest win total they’ve ever had after 96 games according to Baseball-Reference.com. Here’s a look at the five best marks in team history at this point in the season.

Note: The major-league record for most wins after 96 games is 71, held by the 1998 Yankees, the 1907 Cubs, and the 1912 Giants. The Yankees and Cubs went on to win the World Series that year. The Giants lost in the World Series.