Phillies at the break: Where they stand, key numbers, and what’s ahead the rest of the way
The Phillies are in nearly the identical spot they were last year at this time. What’s in store for the final 73 games? An opportunity against losing teams.
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The Phillies’ preseason win total at the Borgata sportsbook was 88.5. They are on pace for 87, and that’s despite Bryce Harper’s power outage.
“The over for the Phillies’ win total was the most popular play by a wide margin in the season/win market for all teams,” said Tom Gable, the casino’s sportsbook manager.
» READ MORE: Hayes: Five Phillies questions and answers at the All-Star break: Turner, Harper, and the starters
Here is a look at some notable Phillies teams from this century and where they stood at the All-Star break:
Harper Era
2023: 48-41 (.539) — 12 games back of Atlanta in the NL East; one percentage point ahead of Milwaukee for the final wild card. Nearly identical to last year at this time.
2022: 49-43 (.533) — 8½ games back of New York in the division; one percentage point ahead of St. Louis for the last wild card. Season result: grabbed that final wild-card spot and made a fascinating run to the World Series before losing to Houston.
2021: 44-44 (.500) — Four games back of New York in the division; 6½ games back in the wild card. Season result: first winning record in 10 years (82-80), but not real close to a playoff berth.
2020: 15-15 (.500) — Three games back of Atlanta in the division; tied for the final spot of the expanded eight-team postseason (because of the COVID-19-shortened season). Season result: lost seven of final eight and gagged away a playoff spot.
2019: 47-43 (.522) — 6½ games back of Atlanta in the division; half-game up for the second (and final) wild card. Season result: staggered to a 34-38 mark in the second half and missed the playoffs despite the arrival of Harper, J.T. Realmuto, Jean Segura, and Andrew McCutchen.
Golden Era
2011: 57-34 (.626) — 3½ games up in the division. Result: won a franchise-record 102 games, but lost in the wild-card round.
2010: 47-40 (.540) — 4½ games back of Atlanta in the division; 1½ games back of the Dodgers for the wild card. Result: lost National League Championship Series.
2009: 48-38 (.558) — Four games up in the division. Result: lost World Series.
» READ MORE: Trea Turner on his slow start: The game has ‘kicked my butt,’ but he knows a turnaround is coming
2008: 52-44 (.542) — Half-game up in the division. Result: won World Series.
2007: 44-44 (.500) — 4½ games back of New York in the division; 4½ games back in the wild card. Result: rallied to win the division but swept in first round.
World Series clubs
Records at the All-Star break for the eight Phillies teams to reach the World Series:
1915: 42-34-1, .552
1950: 44-29, .603
1980: 41-35, .539
1983: 38-36, .514
1993: 57-32, .640
2008: 52-44, .542
2009: 48-38, .558
2022: 49-43, .527
Note: The 2023 Phillies are 48-41 with a similar winning percentage (.539) to that of the 1980 team. … The 1980 and 2008 clubs are the only World Series winners in franchise history. … There was no All-Star Game in 1915. The record above is midway through the season. … The 1964 Phillies were 47-28, a scorching .627 win percentage at the break (groan).
Five notable numbers
21: Home runs allowed by Aaron Nola in 19 starts. Only Toronto’s Yusei Kikuchi and the White Sox’s Lance Lynn have allowed more (22 each).
.306: Trea Turner’s batting average in the second half of seasons in his nine-year career. He’s a .284 hitter in the first half, including a dismal .247 this season.
42: Phillies games remaining against teams with losing records. That’s 57.5% of their schedule, and includes 16 games against teams in last place in their division (Washington, St. Louis, and Kansas City).
3.78: Earned-run average for the Phillies bullpen, which is ninth among all major league teams. It was 4.27 last year, 23rd in the league.
3: Number of home runs hit by Harper in 246 plate appearances, and still the Phillies find themselves in the playoff hunt. Will be pretty interesting around here if he finds his power stroke.
Remaining schedule
The Phillies have 73 games left, 43 at home and 30 on the road. They are 22-16 at home, and a respectable 26-25 on the road thanks to their recent 13-game win streak away from Citizens Bank Park. Here’s a look at their remaining series, which feature doubleheaders against San Diego (Saturday) and Atlanta (Sept. 11).
» READ MORE: Ryan Howard on the Phillies’ first half, his favorite hitter, and — of course — the elimination of the shift
Friday-Sunday vs. Padres: First meeting since last year’s NLCS. Padres (43-47) have been disappointing, but won five of six heading into the break.
July 18-20 vs. Brewers: Christian Yelich is hitting .331 since June 1.
July 21-23 at Guardians: Phillies have faced Guardians ace Shane Bieber once, a loss in 2019.
July 24-26 vs. Orioles: Baltimore is 54-35 at the break. Two years ago, the Orioles had 52 wins all season (and 110 losses).
July 28-30 at Pirates: Jack Suwinski’s 19 home runs are the second-highest total ever by a Pirate under age 25 at the All-Star break. Ralph Kiner, then 24, had 20 in 1947. Suwinski turns 25 during this series (July 29).
July 31-Aug. 3 at Marlins: The Marlins entered the break winning 16 of their last 20 at home. This team is dangerous.
Aug. 4-6 vs. Royals: On pace to lose 116 games. Losing this series would be unforgivable for the Phillies.
Aug. 7-10 vs. Nationals: Another series against a last-place team. Should be a chance to build momentum, but the Nats took two of three in Philly during a series from June 30 to July 2.
Aug. 11-13 vs. Twins: Shortstop Carlos Correa ($33 million) has started to hit a little but is still batting .225.
Aug. 15-16 at Blue Jays: The Phils have lost seven of nine in Toronto (plus two others against the Jays in Buffalo during the COVID-19 season).
Aug. 18-20 at Nationals: The manager and general manager do not have contracts beyond this year and the owner may or may not be selling.
Aug. 21-23 vs. Giants: San Francisco closer Camilo Doval threw a pitch that was clocked at 104.5 mph in a minor league game two years ago. He’s tied for the major league lead in saves with 26 this season.
Aug. 25-27 vs. Cardinals: Hey, how about getting Scott Rolen to throw out the first pitch of the series opener? Nah. Maybe not.
Aug. 28-30 vs. Angels: Shohei Ohtani leads the majors in home runs hit (32) and triples (six) and is fourth in strikeouts thrown (132). Outrageous. The ticket office said there are plenty of tickets remaining for this series.
Sept. 1-3 at Brewers: The Phillies swept three games in Milwaukee last year, winning by a combined score of 21-5.
» READ MORE: Nick Castellanos an All-Star again with a different mindset: ‘The motivation is a little less selfish’
Sept. 4-6 at Padres: Catcher Austin Nola (you-know-who’s-brother) is hitting .143. Eek.
Sept. 8-10 vs. Marlins: It’d be cool to see Luis Arraez (.383) make a run at .400. The Phillies certainly are doing their part. He’s hitting .429 against them this year even after going 0-for-4 on Sunday.
Sept. 11-13 vs. Braves: The Braves have won 11 consecutive series and are 13-2-0 in series away from home. That’s how you build an 8½-game division lead at the All-Star Break.
Sept. 15-17 at Cardinals: The last time the Cardinals (38-52) finished in last place in their division was 33 years ago, when they were still in the NL East.
Sept. 18-20 at Braves: The Bravos have homered in a club-record 26 consecutive games, not bad for a franchise that’s been around for 147 years.
Sept. 21-24 vs. Mets: Kyle Schwarber is 0-for-20 against the Mets this season (11 K’s).
Sept. 26-28 vs. Pirates: Wouldn’t expect RHP Paul Skenes, the recent No. 1 overall pick, to play in the big leagues this season. But it will be interesting to see how he fares at Citizens Bank Park whenever he makes the majors.
Sept. 29-Oct. 1 at Mets: Phils have lost five in a row in New York. Gotta get that turned around.
Source: Inquirer research, Baseball-Reference.com.