The Phillies ended the month of July by sweeping a four-game series against the Pirates in Pittsburgh for the first time since 1968. Their record of 15-10 in July gives them a 55-47 record overall, which is a season-high eight games above .500. They find themselves right in the middle of the playoff race as the calendar turns to August.
The Phillies currently hold the third N.L. wildcard spot with a one-game lead over the Cardinals and trailing the Padres by 1.5 games for the second N.L. wildcard spot. In the divisional race, they are 9.5 games behind the N.L. East leading Mets and 6.5 games behind the second place Braves.
July Recap
In July, the Phillies had a +18 run differential. The offense hit .254/.296/.414 and scored 106 runs, or 4.24 runs per game. Without Bryce Harper, who has been out since June 26 with a broken thumb, the Phillies needed other guys to step up at the plate, and Alec Bohm and J.T. Realmuto did just that. In 20 games, Bohm, who had his 14 game hitting streak end on Saturday, hit .434/.457/.632 with 3 HRs and 14 RBIs. Realmuto, who got off to a slow start this season, had a strong month hitting .358/.423/.642 with 5 HRs and 17 RBIs in 19 games.
While Bohm and Realmuto had the hottest months for the Phillies’ offense, Kyle Schwarber continued his powerful 2022 with 10 HRs in 101 ABs. Schwarber currently leads the N.L. with 33 HR and trails only Aaron Judge (42 HR) in all of baseball. Nick Castellanos, who has been a disappointment so far, might be turning a corner. Although he went without a home run in July, he did hit .282 on the month.
The Phillies’ pitching staff continued to shine in July. In 224 innings, they had a 3.33 ERA, while striking out 218 batters and walking 64. Zack Wheeler headlines the rotation, and in 5 starts, tossed 32.2 innings with a 2.48 ERA and 28 Ks. Aaron Nola was solid in his 35 innings of work, with a 3.60 ERA and 35 Ks. Perhaps one of the more pleasant surprises for the Phillies in July on the pitching side was Ranger Suarez, who made 3 starts after coming off the IL on July 16. Suarez threw 16 innings, without giving up an earned run while striking out 16 batters and walking two.
The bullpen continued to shine in July with strong months from everyone not named Jeurys Familia. The back end of the bullpen, which consists of Seranthony Dominguez, Corey Knebel, and Brad Hand was very strong. Dominguez had a 1.80 ERA in 10 innings, Knebel did not give up an earned run in 10.2 innings, and in 8.1 innings, Hand had a 1.08 ERA.
After a 19-8 record in June, July was another good month for the Phillies. Without their best player, the offense was able to score runs when needed, the pitching was excellent, and they came up clutch in spots they hadn’t earlier in the year. Things are trending up for the Phillies, and with the trade deadline a few days away, Jean Segura returning soon, and Bryce Harper hopefully being back by the end of August, things should only get better from here as the team looks to end their long playoff drought.
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Featured Photo: Twitter / @Phillies
