The Phillies took another series down in Miami.
They lost to the Marlins, 5-4, on Sunday, but still took two of three for the set to make it three straight series wins ever since that disaster of a trip up to Queens a couple of weeks ago.
The bats piled on Friday night while Cristopher Sánchez was stellar again in the first win; Bryce Harper homered, Harrison Bader stayed hot, and Jesús Luzardo held strong for the second on Saturday; then Taijuan Walker bounced back from a bad first frame on Sunday to fight through six innings and afford the Phillies a chance to climb back. They just couldn’t manage that last hit in their lone loss. Otto Lopez’s second homer of the day, a seventh-inning solo shot off José Alvarado, put the game just out of reach despite one last push and a run knocked in by Kyle Schwarber in the ninth.
The Phillies left the field at LoanDepot Park on Sunday at 83-60. They’re still holding a healthy lead over the Mets in the NL East race, which now stands at 7.5 games, but that lead is about to be put back up to the test again – and with a scare now that they might have to go without Trea Turner for it, who pulled up lame running out a ground ball on Sunday (more on that below).
They’re returning home to Citizens Bank Park next, and the Mets will be meeting them there for a four-game set beginning Monday night at 6:45 p.m. ET.
Last time at Citi Field, the Phillies got swept in a rivalry matchup they looked largely unprepared for, and the rest of the season series to this point hasn’t looked much better for them.
The Mets are 7-2 against the Phillies to this point in 2025. They have the Phillies’ number, and the Phillies need that to change quickly.
Because one good showing this week can effectively put the division away…or create the space for it to be a wide-open race again if it goes south the other way.
Aaron Nola is expected to go up against New York’s Nolan McLean to open the series. The season hasn’t been kind to the Phillies’ veteran right-hander, through injury and then a rough return from it, but there would be no better spot for a return to form. He needs it, and the club needs to see something from him as it begins to form its postseason rotation.
Ranger Suárez goes Tuesday night against Sean Manaea in a battle of lefties, and then it’s Sánchez’s turn against right-hander Clay Holmes on Wednesday.
For those two, it’s simple: Keep pitching lights out, all while the bats try not to get fooled again.
It’s a pivotal point in the season for the Phils, that could really help to set the tone for October. Make it count.
Sam Navarro/Imagn Images
Trea Turner homered earlier in Sunday’s loss to the Marlins.
A few other notes from Miami…
• Trea Turner went 4-for-5 in Friday’s win to continue on as the Phillies’ most consistent hitter this season. He got the day off on Saturday, then on Sunday, he hit a solo homer in the sixth, but exited quickly in the seventh after running out a ground ball that was misfired to first.
The immediate diagnosis is a hamstring strain, per the Phillies (via The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Scott Lauber). Then The Athletic’s Jayson Stark chimed in with the following observation from last season:
When Trea Turner pulled a hamstring last season, he missed 6 weeks. We don’t know if this is as serious an injury. But that right hamstring just became a major X factor in the National League playoff picture. https://t.co/Yl7OzUKyyX
— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) September 7, 2025
There will be more to learn once the Phillies get back home, and of course, they’ll hope that Turner’s injury isn’t that severe. But it’s not the kind of precedent anyone wants to hear this late into the year.
• Nick Castellanos tripled in the second inning on Sunday after hitting a fly ball to center field that Miami’s Jakob Marsee missed the diving catch attempt on. Brandon Marsh scored from the first, and that marked the start of the Phillies’ gradual climb back to making it close.
Castellanos finished Sunday 1-for-4 with two strikeouts. Since the All-Star break, he’s slashing .200/.253/.321. He wasn’t in the lineup through the first two games of the Marlins series, and at this point, he isn’t an everyday player anymore.
Brandon Marsh, Harrison Bader, and Max Kepler seems to be the leading combo in the outfield now. Castellanos should still see time in right field, but it’s being heavily cut into now. He has to play a different role, and he has to find a way to leave an impact with it.
• Walker Buehler started for the IronPigs in Triple-A on Saturday. The Phillies picked him up last week, and intend to add him into a six-man rotation to close out the regular season. For a club with uncertain right-handed starting depth, they need to see what might be there.
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