Where were you when Trea Turner’s mom saved the Phillies’ season?
Turner’s game-tying home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday was so far-fetched — given how his season, game and previous at bat had gone — that it was almost weirdly predictable.
The Phillies needed that hit in the moment, for the sake of salvaging one game against the D-Backs at home, but they also need it to be the start of something larger.
It begins this week in Atlanta.
The Phillies, already seven games out of first place in the National League East, head to Truist Park for four games against arguably the best team in the National League, and they need to make a statement.
They say you can’t win a division in the first month — or two — of the season, but that you can certainly lose one. (The same, though perhaps to a slightly lesser degree, goes for a playoff berth.) Should the Phillies head south this weekend and drop three of four to the Braves and fall nine games out of first, they can kiss any reasonable hope at an NL East crown goodbye. A sweep — and an 11-game deficit — and it’s over.
Their division hopes already aren’t in great standing, so maybe an NL East title isn’t even the point right now anyway. The Phillies, thus far in 2023, have been allergic to getting hot. Every win streak (at least two games) they’ve attained since April 26 has been followed immediately by a losing streak of equal or greater quantity, and that’s not a sustainable (or mathematically pragmatic) way to compete for a playoff spot.
Put simply, they need to go on a run, and a four-game series against the vaunted Braves is a great place to start. If coming back from two runs down, after being down to their last out with no one on base, and then going on to win, isn’t an ideal place to start, it’s hard to say what is.
Starting pitching has been the Phillies’ biggest issue so far this season, but it’s also felt like once Trea Turner goes, so will go the Phillies. Maybe Wednesday’s heroics — inspired, perhaps, by his mother — was the start.
It really needs to be.
Must-Read (Or Watch) Phillies Content
- Here’s the full quote of Trea Turner talking about his mom booing him on Wednesday, a game that started off ugly but in which Turner ended up playing hero:
- The Phillies’ No. 5 rotation spot has been much maligned the past couple weeks, but Ranger Suárez’s return hasn’t been pretty so far; our Tim Kelly discussed the details through three starts in 2023.
- John Kruk is the best. (And MLB umpires, generally, are not.)
- Larry Andersen knows ball.
- It’s nice for the Phillies to be (positively) featured in one of these, from MLB’s Sarah Langs.
Former Phillies Nation
- Nick Pivetta, now in the Red Sox’s bullpen, allowed two runs in three innings against the Angels on Wednesday. His ERA is 6.15.
- Mark Leiter Jr. has a 1.77 ERA. Annoyed? Think again: He earned a save (his second of 2023) against the Mets on Wednesday, and a hold (his eighth) against them on Tuesday. Be thankful.
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