The Philadelphia Phillies are scorching hot heading back home to face the Cincinnati Reds. The team is 14-4 with Don Mattingly at the helm (1-0 with bench coach Dusty Watham) and back over the .500 mark for the first time since April 7.
When it comes to the catalyst for this hot streak, one can look to the superstars on the team living up to their billing. Cris Sanchez and Zack Wheeler have staked their claim as one of, if not the best, 1-2 pitcher combinations in baseball. Sanchez had a complete game shutout, and Wheeler went seven scoreless in a duel with Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes.
On offense, to no surprise, the Phillies go as Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber go, and right now they are two of the best sluggers in baseball. Schwarber and Harper have been carrying the Phillies lineup over the last month, and both could accomplish something historic by the end of the season. Schwarber is 40 home runs away from 400 for his career, and Harper is even closer to that feat, needing 25 home runs to reach the mark.
Schwarber Effect
When someone is in a conversation with 2001 Barry Bonds, you know that player is on a heater. That is the case with Kyle Schwarber.
In 2001, Barry Bonds hit his 20th home run on May 19 on his way to 73 that season, and on May 15 in 2026, Kyle Schwarber hit his 20th home run.
According to BetMGM on Twitter, Schwarber, since May 7, has more home runs than 22 MLB teams.
PHLY Sports’ Corey Seidman on Twitter wrote a stat that truly highlights how important Schwarber’s home runs have been for the Phillies over his tenure with the team.
“It is staggering the number of games as a Phillie, Kyle Schwarber has rescued an offense that was doing nothing. However much credit he gets, it isn’t enough,” Seidman wrote.
“The Phils are 72-22 in games he’s homered the last three seasons.”
That number is now 73-22 after Schwarber’s home run against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday.
Destiny Lugardo of Phillies Nation, in her May 16 article, wrote about Don Mattingly discussing just what makes Schwarber so dangerous.
“Schwarber is one of those guys that you think if you make pitches, you get him out,” Mattingly said. “And if you make mistakes, he makes you pay. So you feel like you can go after him a little bit if you make the right pitch. But he makes you pay when you make mistakes.”
If dealing with Schwarber wasn’t enough, teams have to face a two-time NL MVP right behind him.
Elite
Before the season, Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski ruffled some feathers with his comments on Bryce Harper not being elite anymore. Harper, like many great athletes, has used the perceived slight to fuel his greatness this season.
To start the year, however, Harper was struggling just as much as the rest of the team. MLB Analyst Ryan Spaeder detailed the turnaround on Twitter.
“Phillies Bryce Harper was batting just .139/.205/.333 through nine games this season… and .321/.418/.619 in 38 games since,” Spaeder wrote.
Harper has been a huge catalyst in the Phillies’ clawing their way out of the hole they dug for themselves at the beginning of the season. Harper, just like in the batting order, is only behind Kyle Schwarber in home runs this month, with six for Harper compared to seven for Schwarber.
Cole Weintraub of NBC Sports Philadelphia wrote in his May 17 article about how Phillies shortstop Trea Turner feels good about where the team is at right now.
“We feel good,” Turner said. “This is what we knew we were capable of. We didn’t want to start the way we did, but we feel like we’re playing good baseball. We’re just focused on who’s in front of us, stacking up wins and seeing where it ends up at the end of the.”
With Harper and Schwarber leading the way, the Phillies feel like this is more than just a hot streak, but the embodiment of what Phillies baseball is.
Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper Carry Phillies and Race to 400 HRs