The Phillies are Absolutely on Fire
The Phillies have had their best start to a season since 1995. For years this franchise has struggled in April. It was a relief when they would finish the opening month with a .500 record. This season they finished the first month with 20 wins. The winning ways have continued early in May as they sit with the best record in baseball.
So far the starting pitching has been great so far this season. Zack Wheeler once again looks to be primed for the race to win the Cy Young Award. Aaron Nola looks solid once again, new contract in hand. Ranger Suarez is once again quietly dominating (6-0 1.72 ERA). He started the year off with a 32 inning scoreless streak. Ranger seems like a surprise early addition to the National League Cy Young race. Those three starters should give you confidence as the season moves on towards the playoffs. Maybe the biggest surprise so far has been Spencer Turnbull filling in for Taijuan Walker for the first few weeks. He’s posted a 2-0 record with a ridiculously low 1.67 ERA. The rotation has been so good that they’re moving Turnbull to the bullpen because Taijuan Walker is back. Is that the correct move? Why Turnbull and his solid start instead of Cristopher Sanchez. When you have 24 wins you have a bit of wiggle room, but this is a move that could cost the Phillies some games. Time will tell.
All facets of the team are on fire at the moment, but it didn’t start out that way. The pitching was there, but the batting order came out of the game slow. Some of them are still struggling, while most of them have figured it out. Alec Bohm has busted out at the plate and is leading the Phils to the top of the league. Trea Turner has been the player we thought he was going to be when he started here last year. Brandon Marsh has also shown he is a full time starter and shouldn’t be taken out of the lineup depending on what arm the pitcher throws with. Even Johan Rojas has been better! This is all while Bryce Harper hasn’t heated up into amazing Bryce Harper type stuff yet.
The start of this season has been great. Fingers crossed that everyone remains healthy, the Trea Turner hamstring injury is minor, a precautionary DL visit that doesn’t linger all summer. We should once again be heading for a fun summer and fall with the baseball team.
