It is very likely that, for the rest of your life, no matter how long you may live, you will never see a week of Phillies baseball like the one you witnessed over the last seven days.
There was a cycle. A three-home run game. Three legendary comebacks never before pulled off in the history of the sport.
Were these things to happen during an entire season, it would be a curiosity. For them all to happen in the same week?
Bonkers.
Let’s recap a memory-making week by the Philadelphia Phillies.
Saturday, June 20: Phillies 15, Mets 3
Back in early
May, the idea of the Phillies scoring 15 runs in a week, let alone a single game, seemed ludicrous.
But the offense has been much better since the start of June. Their 129 runs scored entering this weekend’s series against in New York, are tied for 2nd-most in MLB. Their 35 home runs are tied for 4th, their .266 batting average is tied for 6th, and their .787 OPS is 8th.
However, the Phils are suddenly excelling in an area that has historically been their biggest bugaboo — hitting with runners in scoring position. In June, their .337 average and 1.030 OPS are 1st in baseball. They’ve hit 10 homers with RISP, which is tied for 3rd.
And while most of that damage wasn’t necessarily done last Saturday night at Citizens Bank Park, a healthy chunk of it was.
Kyle Schwarber hit three home runs, including two in the same inning, both of which went 450+ feet.
It was the fifth time in his career he’s hit at least three dingers in a game, tied for the 2nd-most games with at least three bombs in MLB history.
If that had been the only storyline, that would have been enough. But, oh no, there was more.
Bryce Harper also made history by becoming the 11th player in Phillies history to hit for the cycle.
Oh, and he had it all wrapped up by the end of the 5th inning.
How often does a player hit for the cycle and his teammate hit three blasts in the same game? Not too often!
It was one of those games that 200,000 people will say they attended over the course of their lives. A generational game.
Sunday, June 21: Phillies 6, Dodgers 2
There’s always a little juice when your team is playing on Sunday Night Baseball, especially at Citizens Bank Park.
Zack Wheeler continued his remarkable recovery from thoracic outlet syndrome with a stellar start against the flailing Mets: 5.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 7 K. His ERA fell to 2.11.
Harper, swinging the same 35-ounce bat that helped him slug for the cycle the night before, piled up three more hits, including another homer, and finished a triple shy of a second straight cycle.
How often has a player hit for the cycle and then come within one hit of a second straight cycle the following game? Not often!
Oh, and Schwarber went deep again, his league-leading 29th of the season.
Things haven’t even begun to get weird yet.
Monday, June 22: Nationals 4, Phillies 1
There wasn’t much to write home about in this “scheduled” loss, as the Phils started lefty reliever Tim Mayza and followed up with new No. 5 starter Alan Rangel.
Rangel was actually pretty good: 5 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 Ks. You’ll take that every time.
Brandon Marsh hit a solo home run, a portent of more to come in what would be a ridiculous series for the Phils’ outfielder.
Let’s just consider this game the “eye” of the storm.
Tuesday, June 23: Phillies 14, Nationals 9
In what will likely go down as their craziest win of the season, the Phils fell behind 5-0 after Jesus Luzardo got dinked and dunked in the early innings. Although he compiled 13 strikeouts and didn’t give up an extra base hit, he did allow five runs in his first four innings.
But the Phillies started to chip away.
Edmundo Sosa, inserted into the DH spot minutes before first pitch after Schwarber announced he was dealing with lower back stiffness, hit a two-run shot in the 5th to get the Phillies on the board. He followed that up with an RBI fielder’s choice in the 7th to make it 5-3.
In the 8th, J.T. Realmuto, who was hitting just above .200 when he came to the plate, smacked a liner to right field with the bases loaded.
Wood came as close to catching that ball as a human can without actually catching it, didn’t he? Suddenly, the Phils had a 6-5 lead. It felt like it was going to be a garden variety late-game comeback victory!
But Nats second baseman Jorbit Vivas shocked Orion Kerkering with a three-run blast just moments later to suddenly put the Nationals back on top 8-6.
In the 9th, the Sosa and Justin Crawford both struck out. With two outs and no one on, Trea Turner was down to his final strike before lining a single to left-center field. Then, Brandon Marsh shocked the world.
A shell-shocked Brad Lord then completely fell apart. Two more Phils reached base before Bryson Stott blew everyone’s mind with this three-run blast that somehow stayed inside the right field foul pole.
The Phillies still were not done. In all, the Phils would score 8 runs in the 9th inning, and it all started with no one on base, two outs, and two strikes on Turner.
Oh, but the Phillies were not done.
Wednesday, June 24: Phillies 5, Nationals 4
You never seek a folk hero coming.
Matt Stairs became a Phillies legend because no one in their right minds every would have thought he would author one of the biggest postseason home runs in franchise history.
While newly acquired outfielder Derek Hill clearly hasn’t reached that level of notoriety, his heroics in the 9th inning of Wednesday night’s game at the very least earned him a prominent spot in the team’s video yearbook.
Trailing 4-3 in the 9th inning, the first two batters to come to the plate failed to reach base. Schwarber, who did not start for the second straight game due to his stiff back, felt well enough to pinch hit in the 9th and worked a 9-pitch walk to put the tying run on first.
Hill had not made much of an impression in his four weeks with the team, good or bad. But once again, down to their final out, a Phillie hit a go-ahead home run in the 9th inning, this time an improbable opposite-field dinger off the bat of Hill.
How unusual is it for a team to start a 9th inning trailing, have their first two hitters make outs and come within one strike of losing and still win the game? Glad you asked.
And yet… there would be more.
Thursday, June 25: Phillies 10, Nationals 5
For the second time in this four-game series, the Phils trailed the Nationals 5-0, this time after the third inning. Cristopher Sanchez uncharacteristically just didn’t have it at the start of this one, and it felt like the Nats were finally going to pull out a victory.
Honestly, they should have been on the verge of a four-game sweep. Unfortunately, bullpens are still a real and important need for every baseball team, and they don’t have one.
Once again, the Phils started chipping away. Marsh hit another homer, this time a two-run shot in the 6th to make it 5-2. The Nats’ ‘pen melted down in the 7th, walking in two runs and allowing the Phils to tie the score 5-5.
Enter, the 9th inning. No, the Phillies weren’t trailing this time, nor were they down to their final strike. Instead, the former National, Harper, who had been listening to taunts from fans all game, stamped an exclamation point on this improbable week of baseball.
The Phils tacked on three more runs for insurance, including another home run by Hill, his second in as many nights.
It’s hard to believe. Three straight games. Three straight 9th inning, go-ahead home runs by the Phillies.
Had this every been done before? You already know the answer, don’t you?
In all, this will go down as one of the most bonkers series in franchise history.
The Phils enter their weekend series against a Mets team that fired manager Carlos Mendoza on Friday trailing the Atlanta Braves by just four games in the NL East.
What an insanely fun week, the likes of which we will never see again.
