The Phillies spent heavily this offseason, most of it to retain right-handed starting pitchers Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola, leading some observers to distrust the front office.
Surely any team that wants to truly win needs to spend big bucks on at least one talented new free agent?
Apparently not. The Phillies beat the Rangers 5-2 on Thursday at Citizens Bank Park and continue to have the best record in baseball. And as players packed up for road trips to Colorado and San Francisco, there was a general feeling in the clubhouse that maintaining the status quo had some benefits that weren’t initially obvious.
Manager Rob Thomson has spoken a lot about the team’s extraordinary chemistry and frequently cited the added urgency of getting over the finish line after losing in the 2023 World Series and to the Diamondbacks last year.
In that sense, restoring it meant that the equilibrium was hardly disturbed.
“We all know each other pretty well,” right-hander Zack Wheeler noted, “we pretty much know what to do in certain situations on the field, and that’s always a big thing.”
Added right fielder Nick Castellanos: “This is the best team I’ve ever been on. It’s a lot of fun. It’s hard to win, even when you’ve had the same guys for a long time. So to be able to feel the adversity together and experience the wins together, it just makes us bond even more as a team.”
“So, hats off to ownership and the front office for believing in the guys that are already here. I can’t speak for the entire team. Speaking for myself, it was really hard to enjoy any part of the offseason, even during the holidays, because of the way the season ended.”
The loss of shortstop Trea Turner to the disabled list with a tight left hamstring was a big blow, but Edmundo Sosa has been thriving. He has started 14 games since then and is hitting .341. On Wednesday night, Sosa hit a three-run homer in a crucial game, giving starter Taijuan Walker some breathing room. On Thursday, he recorded three hits for the first time in two years, making a great catch on a shallow fly ball to left field.
“We all know what we’re here for, we know where we want to go,” he said through translator Diego D’Aniello. “We know what our goal is, we want to go out and finish something that’s on hold right now.”
next: The Phillies open a weekend series against the last-place Rockies at Coors Field with left-hander Christopher Sanchez (2-3, 3.31 ERA) facing left-hander Ty Blatche (1-2, 5.14 ERA) at 8:40 p.m. on Friday, right-hander Aaron Nola (6-2, 3.05 ERA) facing right-hander Dakota Hudson (1-7, 5.89 ERA) at 9:10 p.m. on Saturday, and left-hander Ranger Suarez (9-0, 1.36 ERA) facing right-hander Cal Quantrill (3-3, 3.59 ERA) on Sunday.
Colorado has one of the worst records in baseball, but they’ve been on a roll lately, winning seven straight games from May 9-15, including sweep wins over the Rangers and Padres, and going 9-12 (.429) at home relatively well. They were swept at Citizens Bank Park on April 15, 16 and 17, but two of those games were decided by a single run.
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