After a dominating 8-1 win over the Diamondbacks last night, the Phillies have won 15 of their last 17 games and are in search of their fifth series sweep of three or more games in their last six series. They are currently the top wild card team and suddenly just three games behind the Braves in the NL East.
They capped a 21-7 August by starting 1-0 in September and are the hottest team in baseball.
All of this has coincided with a 34-game on-base streak by Bryce Harper, who reached base in all five
of his plate appearances last night (4-for-4 with a walk). Over that stretch he is hitting .345 with a .494 on-base percentage and a .588 slugging percentage, good for an OPS of 1.082.
There is a direct correlation between Harper’s hot streak and the Phillies’ run of success since the start of August.
It is not happening by accident.
While Kyle Schwarber has had a quiet time of it over that same stretch, hitting .222 with a .344 OBP, a .444 SLG and an OPS of .788. He’s had some very big home runs during that time, but Harper’s game-to-game consistency has been the true difference-maker for an improved offensive attack.
Make no mistake, the Phils’ pitching staff is the biggest reason for this 28-game stretch of insane baseball. Since they emerged from the Iowa corn in the Field of Dreams Game on August 13, they’ve posted 2.65 team ERA that is 2nd-best in MLB (San Diego). Their 10.00 K/9 are also 2nd (Los Angeles Dodgers), with an 18.5 K-BB% that is 2nd-best as well (Dodgers).
The starters’ 3.01 ERA is 5th-best and, hold onto your hats, but the much-maligned bullpen’s 1.93 ERA is the very best in baseball during this 28-game run. So, as always, the Phillies’ success is largely led by pitching.
But it should not be lost on anyone that Harper is playing at the kind of level Dave Dombrowski questioned he’d be able to reach again last off-season. I was among those questioning whether Harper had this kind of ability left in him, too. His numbers compared to last year are markedly improved.
- 2025: 132 games, 3.1 WAR, .261/.357/.487, .844 OPS, 128 OPS+, 70 BBs
- 2026: 139 games, 3.8 WAR, .274/.392/.509, .901 OPS, 140 OPS+, 98 BBs
Harper leads the NL in walks, has already surpassed last year’s WAR totals, and his .901 OPS currently ranks 6th among all qualified MLB hitters (Yordan Alvarez, Pete Crow-Armstrong, James Wood, Shohei Ohtani, Junior Caminero). He is one of just seven players with an OPS over .900. His .844 OPS a season ago ranked 22nd.
That is the difference between very good and “elite.”
For the first time in what feels like forever, Harper doesn’t appear to be pressing. He doesn’t appear to feel like he needs to do it all. Perhaps the mental aspect of adding a player like Luis Arraez into the lineup behind him has been just as important as Arraez’ actual production, which has been solid in and of itself.
Harper appears more relaxed, not chasing the five-run homer. He’s been particularly hot on this west coast road trip through Seattle, Anaheim and now Arizona, hitting .483 (15-for-31) out west.
Harper’s OBP is 2nd in the National League, he’s 7th in slugging, and 5th in wRC+.
And let it not be lost on the consumer that Harper is doing all this while switching from first base to right field, a position he has not played since the first half of 2022. His defense has not been an issue, and one could say the overall defense of the team has actually improved since Bryson Stott went to third base, Arraez arrived to play second and Alec Bohm went to first. So much for the hand-wringing!
Keep in mind, this is Bryce Harper’s FIFTEENTH year in the Majors. 15!!! At 33 years old, he’s putting together the type of season prime Mike Schmidt would be proud of. He’s already matched last year’s home run total (27), and is likely to find himself as an MVP finalist along with Crow-Armstrong and Ohtani if he keeps this up.
So yes, Harper is once again elite. And as a direct consequence, the Phillies are the hottest team in baseball and steaming upward in the standings as the calendar flips to September.
