The Phillies have spent this season careening between peaks and potholes, but with Sept. 17 here they’re still squarely in the NL race. Philadelphia sits second in the National League Wild Card standings, just a half-game behind the Cubs and one game ahead of the Padres.
That position makes the next stretch feel bigger, especially with Jesus Luzardo out because of shoulder stiffness. Andrew Painter is one of the arms expected to help carry the load while Luzardo is sidelined, and the Phillies will need that level of support from the rest of the roster too.
One of the quieter reasons the club has stayed afloat is Justin Crawford, who has turned himself into a real piece of the puzzle over the last few months. The rookie center fielder has gone from shaky to steady, and the numbers show a clear jump in his production at the plate.
As shared by Slim on X, Crawford boosted his OPS by 35% from May to August, climbing from .565 to .761. The change started with contact. His strikeout rate dropped from 19.3% to 8.3%, a huge improvement that puts him in elite territory.
That kind of approach has fit right in with what the Phillies have done as a team. In August, their offense was one of the most productive in MLB because the lineup became more selective, drew more walks, and cut down on both strikeouts and home runs while still winning more games.
Crawford’s progress also came in a lineup that got a boost from Luis Arraez, whose presence gave Bryce Harper better protection. But Arraez was only part of the equation. The Phillies’ attack improved because players like Crawford bought in and stretched the order, making the club more dangerous past the top four hitters.
The turnaround has been especially clear in the strikeout column. Through June, Crawford had 55 strikeouts.
Since July began, he has struck out only 20 times, the same total he had in June alone. Whatever concerns existed earlier in the year have been pushed aside by the way he’s hit since then.
Now he’s riding a seven-game hitting streak, and he’s been doing the kind of work at the bottom of the order that changes innings. Crawford has effectively acted as a second leadoff man, setting the table and creating opportunities for the hitters behind him.
In Other News...
Justin Crawford Is Making The Phillies Reconsider A Bigger Role
Justin Crawfords rookie season did not start with much offensive traction, as he labored through his first 215 plate appearances with a .634 OPS and a 73 wRC+. But the Phillies have seen a different player since mid-June, one whose at-bats have been more consistent and whose overall production has climbed enough to keep him in the lineup on a regular basis.
The most encouraging part for Philadelphia is that the improvement has not been limited to one narrow slice of the schedule, either. Crawford has shown better results against left-handed pitchers, and the way he has steadied himself over the summer has forced a longer look at what his future role might be. There is still work to do, but he has made enough progress to keep the Phillies thinking bigger about how he fits. [Read more 🡒]
Phillies Still Have Two Problems To Solve Before The Final Push
Jose Urquidys Phillies debut gave the club a little stability in a bullpen game, but it was not enough to carry them past the Mets. He worked 4.2 scoreless innings, the kind of steady outing Philadelphia could use down the stretch, yet the offense did not do its part and the game quickly turned into another reminder that the margins are shrinking with the regular season nearly over.
With eight games left, the Phillies are still locked in a three-way tie in the National League wild card race, and the next week is going to be shaped by whether they can clean up the two areas that hurt them here. The lineup needs to wake up, and the bullpen has to be sharper when the rotation is pieced together, because there is no room left for nights when both sides fall short at the same time. [Read more 🡒]
Phillies Suddenly Have An Eighth-Inning Problem They Can't Ignore
The Phillies had leaned on Orion Kerkering as a dependable late-inning bridge for much of the season, which is why his move to Triple-A lands as more than a routine roster shuffle. He had given the bullpen real value with 17 holds and two saves, but the post-All-Star Break stretch turned sharply, capped by a rough outing against the Mets and an 8.10 ERA over 22 games since the break.
Now Philadelphia is sorting through an eighth-inning role it cannot afford to let drift. Jonathan Bowlan has been handling that job for the moment, though he is working through a mild groin strain, and manager Don Mattingly has already flagged the issue of Kerkerings confidence. For a club that needs the back end of games to settle down, the next answer matters almost as much as the one it just sent away. [Read more 🡒]