It was a good week for the Phillies, winning five out of six against the Orioles and Rangers and putting themselves up 5 1/2 games over the Mets in the process. Of course, that’s thanks to the Mets struggling on their own, but hey, you gotta take care of what’s in front of you. Some Phillies had good weeks, some had bad weeks. Let’s look at them.
Marsh had himself a week this week, getting seven hits in fifteen plate appearances, including three doubles and two home runs. He’s making a case for himself to start getting regular playing time, even against left handed pitching, something the team has been loathe to give him. Rob Thomson still isn’t ready to give anyone regular time despite having the ability to do so, but maybe Marsh is ready to start getting that time.
Speaking of players that sit against left handed pitching.
Stott had seven hits in sixteen plate appearances himself, getting two doubles and a triple. I’ve been critical of Stott this season and will continue to believe that moving on from him in favor of a better option after the season might be the better option, but even curmudgeonly me can admit when a guy hit well for a stretch.
Listen, it’s only two appearances that Duran had this week, both of them resulting in saves. He’s here for the simple reason that it’s a different feeling to have a pitcher that feels automatic the second he steps foot on the field. Games for the Phillies, when Duran is available, now feel eight innings long. It’s a race to make sure that they have a lead during those eight innings because the ninth inning, it’s over. There is going to be a hiccup along the way, but it truly does feel different with Duran anchoring the bullpen.
Yikes. Castellanos is truly down right now. Since July started, he has hit .205/.230/.339, this past week of going two for 20 a simple microcosm. The outfield has been the black hole of the offense this season, something we all know and recognize. Castellanos, for the better part of the season, has at least been consistent with his bat prior to this stretch, so if he’s not hitting, he’s not contributing much of anything. One question we can start is asking soon is: what does that mean for 2026?
Some weeks, your team leader is up. Some weeks, your team leader is down. Harper was riding the extra base streak in the weeks prior this past one, but he looks to be stuck in a rut right now. It’s likely a temporary thing, something he’ll bounce back from soon enough. But it is helpful when the team around him picks up the rest of the lineup.
This does feel a bit like picking on Suarez, but his start against the Orioles had that feel of his going through the dead arm phase he seems to get each August. He’s given up 15 runs in his last 23 1/3 innings and has seen a velocity drop the entire time. Again, it’s mostly just a subjective point of view, but there just seems to be a point in each season where he runs out of gas before ultimately finding another gear again for the playoffs. Let’s hope that happens again this season.