The Philadelphia Phillies have widened their lead in the National League East to 10 games after defeating the New York Mets 11-3 at Citizens Bank Park on Wednesday. This marks a significant turnaround from two weeks ago, when the Phillies were swept by the Mets in New York and saw their division lead cut to four games.
Following that series, the Phillies have won 10 of their last 13 games, while the Mets have struggled with a 4-9 record during the same span. The victory gives Philadelphia (86-60) its largest division lead of the season over New York (76-70), and only for the second time in franchise history has it held a double-digit September lead—previously achieved in 2011.
“I’m really proud of the ballclub,” said manager Rob Thomson. ” … I think everybody understands where we’re at and what we need to do to get this thing done. And things change in a heartbeat, so I’m not counting my chickens right now.”
As the regular season nears its end, maintaining their No. 2 seed for playoff positioning is becoming more important for Philadelphia than simply winning the division. Meanwhile, New York’s attention has shifted toward holding onto a potential Wild Card berth.
Cristopher Sánchez started for Philadelphia and pitched six innings of one-run baseball, rebounding from his previous outing against New York when he allowed six runs. Sánchez had previously struggled against the Mets but performed well this time as he prepares for possible postseason appearances.
A key factor in Philadelphia’s recent success has been improved production from its outfielders. On Wednesday, Max Kepler contributed three hits—including a home run—and five RBIs; Brandon Marsh added three hits and two RBIs; Harrison Bader, filling in atop the lineup due to Trea Turner’s injury, had two hits and scored twice.
Nick Castellanos also contributed earlier in the series with crucial RBIs despite being rotated out of Wednesday’s starting outfield.
Prior to Major League Baseball’s trade deadline, Phillies outfielders ranked near the bottom of MLB with a .677 OPS. Since then, they have improved dramatically—ranking sixth with an .825 OPS—and through nine games in September have posted an MLB-best combined OPS of 1.143.
“It’s been great; it really has,” Thomson said. “I’m really happy with where we’re at right now. We’ve just got to keep moving forward, but everybody is contributing, and it seems like a different guy every day who steps up.”
Bader’s arrival via trade and Kepler’s resurgence have both played roles in this improvement.
“I talked to him after the [All-Star break] and I said, ‘You know, you’re in a good spot. We believe in you. You’re going to have a really good second half. Just keep grinding, keep working,’” Thomson said about Kepler. “And fortunately, he’s swinging the bat well and playing well.”
Kepler himself acknowledged his mindset shift since joining Philadelphia: “Early on, me personally, I think I was trying to prove myself and I played the game as more of an individual than for the team,” Kepler said. “Not in a selfish way, but just being a new guy in the organization, I was trying to do a little more than I was used to.”
Kepler is hitting .307 with five home runs and sixteen RBIs over his past twenty games—a marked improvement from his earlier numbers this season.
Philadelphia will try for a four-game sweep over New York Thursday night as they aim for back-to-back division titles.
“It’s awesome. Big accomplishment,” Kepler said. “We grinded over in New York and were unhappy with what we did there, so to win a series and hopefully get a sweep tomorrow is all you can ask for as a team.”
