The Phillies didn’t just finish August well. They finished it looking like a team that knows exactly how to survive a long season and carry momentum into the games that actually matter.
Philadelphia went 21-7 last month, surged into September tied with the Chicago Cubs for the top Wild Card spot at 78-60, and trimmed the Braves’ lead in the N.L. East to four games.
The two division rivals still have seven head-to-head matchups left in September, including four games in South Philly over Labor Day weekend. That stretch alone could shape everything.
What makes the Phillies’ position so interesting is the way they arrived here. They won 14 of their last 16 games before the calendar flipped, and now they’re stepping into a September schedule loaded with teams still chasing something.
Arizona opens the month, then comes seven games against Atlanta, a three-game series with Houston, and six straight against the Nationals and Mets. Even the final week has a familiar feel to it, with the Brewers and Rays closing the regular season - two clubs the Phillies beat in the 2008 postseason run that ended with a World Series title.
The road is rough, but that might be exactly what the Phillies need. Per Tankathon, they own a .546 strength of schedule over their final 24 games, the toughest remaining slate among playoff contenders.
That’s second only to the Reds, who have a .579 SOS but are out of the race at 65-73. Philadelphia won’t be eased into October; it’ll be tested by teams with urgency almost every step of the way.
Cristopher Sánchez is a huge reason that setup works. Every fifth game, the Phillies get one of the most dominant arms in the league.
The 29-year-old enters the final month with the most wins in the N.L. at 16, plus 175 ⅓ innings, 202 strikeouts, and a 2.52 ERA, all near the top of the league. His chase rate, whiff rate, walk rate, and ground-ball rate all sit in elite territory, and the numbers match the eye test: hitters rarely square him up, and when they do, the ball tends to stay on the ground.
Sánchez has already delivered one of the season’s defining stretches. His franchise-record scoreless run ended at 50 ⅔ innings on June 3, the most ever by a left-hander and the fifth-longest in MLB history.
The Phillies honored him on July 22 with a game-used jersey from the record-setting day and a commemorative custom Swarovski-encrusted baseball. He backed that up in August with a 3-0 record, a 1.72 ERA, and 45 strikeouts in 36 ⅔ innings over six starts.
Since the All-Star break, he’s gone 5-0 with a 2.25 ERA and 58 strikeouts in 48 innings.
The other big reason this run feels sustainable is the offense’s change in shape. Philadelphia stopped striking out so much and started grinding at-bats.
In August, the Phillies ranked second in the N.L. in batting average (.270), hits (254), and runs scored (147), trailing only the Cubs in each category. The improvement was stark when measured against earlier in the season: the Phillies led the N.L. with 257 strikeouts in June, then cut that number down to 175 last month.
Their walks jumped too, from 2.91 per game to 4.35 per game across 28 games.
That’s the kind of offensive adjustment that changes everything. It gives the pitching staff breathing room, lengthens games for opponents, and turns a good month into a real September run.
Philadelphia did a lot of its damage against teams it should have beaten in August, but winning those games still matters. The Phillies handled what was in front of them, and now they’re walking into the hardest part of the schedule with real momentum.
If they keep playing this way, the final month could feel less like a grind and more like a launchpad into Red October.
In Other News...
Phillies Just Gave Fans Another Reason To Question September Plans
The Phillies spent the roster-expansion day making a couple of expected moves, starting with the return of catcher Rafael Marchan from the 10-day injured list after his rehab assignment. They also brought up right-hander Grant Holman from Triple-A Lehigh Valley, giving the club an extra arm as the calendar turns and the bullpen picture starts to matter more with every series.
Holman has yet to appear in a major league game this season and will wear No. 51, while the outfield picture already changed when Philadelphia dealt Tommy Pham to the Chicago White Sox before the roster grew to 28 players. For a team trying to sort out September roles, the bigger question now is how these additions fit into the mix and whether the Phillies are done adjusting the roster or just getting started. [Read more 🡒]
Phillies Add Stretch Run Depth As Two Pressure Points Grow
The Phillies used the first wave of September roster expansion to give themselves a little more breathing room behind the scenes, promoting catcher Rafael Marchan and reliever Grant Holman to the major league club. Marchan was reinstated from the injured list after finishing a rehab assignment, while Holman came up from Triple-A Lehigh Valley, giving Philadelphia a third catcher and one more arm for the final month of the season.
For a team entering the stretch run, those are the kinds of moves that can matter more than they look on paper. Catching depth becomes a real issue once the schedule tightens and the innings pile up, and every extra reliever can help a staff navigate the fatigue that tends to show up in September, even if the bigger roster questions are still to come. [Read more 🡒]
Angels Face A Zach Neto Decision That Could Shape The Roster
The Angels held onto Zach Neto at the trade deadline after interest in the shortstop picked up, with the asking price apparently never getting met. Boston was among the clubs linked to Neto, but Los Angeles ultimately chose to keep one of its most established young pieces in place rather than move him for less than it wanted.
Neto remains under contract through 2030, which makes him more than just a deadline rumor for the Angels. If they revisit his market this offseason, it could become one of the roster-defining decisions of the winter, especially with a player who has already become such a central part of what theyre trying to build. [Read more 🡒]