The Phillies spent a lot of money this offseason, but most of it went to retain the services of starters Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola, prompting some observers to give the front office a fish-eye.
Shouldn’t a team that’s really trying to win have to spend on at least one new luxury free agent?
Apparently not. With a win over the Rangers, 5-2, Thursday at Citizens Bank Park, the Phils continue to have the best record in baseball. And there was a general feeling in the clubhouse as the players prepared for the upcoming road trip to Colorado and San Francisco that maintaining the status quo had some advantages that may not have been apparent at first.
Manager Rob Thomson has talked a lot about the extraordinary chemistry this group has, and he’s also often mentioned that after losing the World Series in 2023 and being eliminated by the Diamondbacks last year, it has added urgency to get them over the finish line.
In this sense, turning it back means that the balance has not been greatly disturbed.
“We all know each other really well,” right-hander Zach Wheeler noted. “We know, for the most part, what we’re going to do in certain situations on the field. That’s always big.”
Added right fielder Nick Castellanos: “This is the best team I’ve ever been a part of. It’s a lot of fun. Winning is hard, right, even when you have the same pieces together for a long period of time. So the fact that we can feel the adversity together, feel the victories Together, they make our connections as a group greater.
“And that’s a kudos to ownership and the front office for believing in the pieces that are already here. I can’t speak for the entire team. I can speak for myself that I had a real hard time enjoying any part of the offseason, even when I was on vacation, just because of the way it ended.” season.
When Trea Turner was placed on the injured list with a left hamstring strain, it was a devastating loss. But Edmundo Sosa stepped up. In 14 subsequent starts he hit .341. Wednesday night he hit a clutch three-run homer to give rookie Taijuan Walker some breathing room. On Thursday, he had his first three-hit game in two years, and also had a nice hit on a popup to shallow left.
“We all know what we are here for. We all know where we want to go,” he said through translator Diego Danilo. “We all know what our goal is. We want to get out and finish something that we have put on hold now.
the next: LHP Christopher Sanchez (2-3, 3.31) will start against LHP Ty Blach (1-2, 5.14) on Friday at 8:40 PM when the Phillies open the weekend series against the last-place Rockies at Coors Field. It will be RHP Aaron Nola (6-2, 3.05) vs. RHP Dakota Hudson (1-7, 5.89) on Saturday at 9:10 p.m. and LHP Ranger Suarez (9-0, 1.36) vs. RHP Cal Quantrill (3-3, 3.59) Sunday.
Despite having one of the worst records in baseball, Colorado has been on the upswing lately. They went on a seven-game winning streak from May 9-15 that included sweeps of the Rangers and Padres and are a relatively respectable 9-12 (.429) at home. . They were swept at Citizens Bank Park on April 15-16-17, but two of the games were decided by one run.
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