Power Surge: Streaking Phillies Destroy Twins in 13-2 Laugher

Right about the time Minnesota’s Max Kepler scorched one a few rows over the right field out-of-town scoreboard, it felt to me like one of those nights.

You know the kind. The type of night when positive momentum doesn’t carry over, an early deficit kills the good vibes, and everybody quickly turns the page to the next day.

Chillin’ out, MAXin’ 💪 pic.twitter.com/gYmGyHonE6

— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) August 11, 2023

Despite the Phillies having plenty of such nights this season, the feeling I felt after Kepler’s home run was, of course, very stupid and very wrong.

I was initially wrong because a Phillies lineup that suddenly looks like the one everybody drooled over last winter destroyed Twins starter Dallas Keuchel to the tune of six hits, two walks, and six runs in a second inning he wouldn’t survive.

I became impossibly wrong once the Phillies knocked around Twins reliever Josh Winder for another three runs in the fourth inning.

And by the time Twins outfielder-turned-pitcher Jordan Luplow imitated Phillies closer Craig Kimbrel one pitch before serving up Johan Rojas’ first career home run, one that made it 13-2, well, you get the point.

Jordan Luplow imitates Craig Kimbrel, then Johan Rojas proceeds to send a 47.5 mph pitch into the stands

As called by Franzke and LA pic.twitter.com/8ZTbb7nG9x

— Nick Piccone (@_piccone) August 12, 2023

Hi, yes. I am a dumbass.

Cristopher Sánchez Bounces Back

No baseball observer would call this Minnesota lineup potent. Not by any stretch.

The Twins entered play Friday night having scored just 4.4 runs per game (18th overall) and were twice shut out earlier this week during a four-game series in Detroit.

But one thing they can do is hit home runs.

Only seven teams have hit more homers per game this season, and they flexed some of their muscle early on against Phillies starter Cristopher Sánchez, who has struggled to keep the baseball in the yard during two August starts.

But to his credit, Sánchez worked around six hits and three walks to otherwise keep the Twins off the board over six innings of work.

Cristopher Sánchez, Wicked Changeups. 👌 pic.twitter.com/iCNeVvudsU

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 11, 2023

In his first eight starts since being recalled on June 17, Sánchez posted a 0.84 WHIP across 43 innings pitched.

He hasn’t been as sharp his last two times out, allowing 16 total baserunners over 11 innings (1.45 WHIP), but he’s remained remarkably consistent in giving the Phillies a chance to win ballgames.

Sánchez has allowed three runs or fewer in 10 of his 11 starts this season and two runs or fewer in seven of those starts.

Remember when everybody (rightfully) bitched and moaned about the fifth starter problems? Now six deep in the rotation, that problem feels like forever ago.

August Castellanos?

June Schwarber…August Castellanos?

Maybe it’s not quite as catchy, but Nick Castellanos has been out of his mind this month. After recording just 16 hits in 99 July at-bats, Castellanos needed all of 46 August at-bats to reach 16 hits, seven of which have gone for extra bases.

Following a big 3-for-4 night, Castellanos is now hitting .340 with a strong 1.099 OPS this month.

Meet the Standard

Since coming to Philadelphia, fans here have been quick to call J.T. Realmuto the B.C.I.B. The best catcher in baseball.

With durability, defensive prowess, and well above average offensive numbers at the catcher position, the nickname was warranted.

This season has been a different story.

He has struggled to hit at Citizens Bank Park (.183 batting average entering Friday), has gone through a few prolonged slumps, and his overall numbers are down across the board.

All true.

But here’s a take: I think the criticism of his game has been a bit unfair. After a 2-for-4 night that included his 15th homer of the season, Realmuto is suddenly up to a .778 OPS and officially tracking a 20-homer season.

Best catcher in baseball?

At this point, no. But it’s still well within reason that Realmuto could finish top-5 among catchers in key categories like slugging percentage, batting average, OPS, and home runs.

Power Surge

Thanks to the Phillies’ official game notes for this one.

The Phillies entered the opener with the Twins in the midst of a historic power surge.

After spending most of the season struggling to hit home runs, they swatted a stunning 18 homers across the first seven games of their current homestand, tying the most homers in a seven-game stretch at home since 1901.

The other time came just last season when they rocked opposing pitchers for 18 homers between July 26 and Aug. 9. That stretch, however, was interrupted by a six-game road trip.

(Side note: It’s pretty hard to believe the Victorino-Rollins-Utley-Howard-Werth squads failed to pull this off).

Last year’s team also didn’t homer in the eighth game of that stretch, so the sixth inning homers by Bryson Stott and Realmuto, as well as the eighth inning blast by Rojas, set a new Phillies record for homers hit over eight consecutive home games.

Stotty!!!#RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/sXWZNKyvdV

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) August 12, 2023

Feels Like Old Times

It’s only natural to draw comparisons between the 2022 and 2023 Phillies. To this point, it has been pretty easy to make some obvious connections.

A slow start and an early season slide down the standings that precedes a major summer surge.

Sound familiar?

Hell, with their win tonight, the Phillies moved to a season-best 13 games over .500. That’s exactly where they were on Aug. 11 last season following a 3-0 loss to the Marlins.

But not everything is the same — and that includes things like belief and buzz. Ten years from now, we’ll probably look back at 2022 like it was some party down at Citizens Bank Park right from the start, but that’s not true.

During their first seven home games last August, attendance eclipsed 30,000 fans only once. That run included a Friday night win over the Nationals on Aug. 5 that saw just 22,024 fans in attendance.

Compare that to the 33,071 that came through the gate Friday night to see their team play a Twins squad that, if I had to guess, is loaded with players that most casual fans don’t know a thing about.

In fact, across eight home dates so far this month, the Phillies haven’t had fewer than 30,000 in attendance and have three times had at least 40,000 fans come through the gates.

What Are the Odds?

If you’re into postseason projections, you may be interested to learn that no team has improved its overall playoff odds over the last 30 days more than the Phillies. In that time, their odds have improved by 47.2 percent, currently giving them a 92.4 percent chance to run back a Red October.

Of course, you will notice the odds aren’t 100 percent, so they could still fall flat on their faces over the next seven weeks or so.

Collapses do happen. The Marlins had great odds — until they didn’t. While the Phillies’ odds have soared, the Marlins’ outlook has dimmed during the same timeframe, dropping 36.9 percent down to 38.6 percent overall.

This wild shift primarily speaks to two points:

1. The Phillies have played pretty good baseball.
2. Several of their primary wild card competitors have not.

At 17-11 since the All-Star break, the Phillies have MLB’s seventh best and the National League’s third best overall record in the second half.

There’s no doubt the Phillies have let their share of games slip away in recent weeks, but they have still managed to gain separation from the field as teams like the Marlins, Reds, Brewers, and Diamondbacks have scuffled.

Arizona, specifically, has been absolute trash, as the Diamondbacks have watched their postseason odds get slashed by 50 percent over their last 30 games. I guess this news shouldn’t be all that surprising given they haven’t won a game in August.

Podcast!

Be sure to check out Crossed Up: A Phillies Podcast. Anthony SanFilippo and I talk all things Phillies, and we think it’s a pretty solid show. If you’re looking for something new, give it a shot on any popular podcast platform or watch on YouTube below:

 

 

 

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