The Philadelphia Phillies are coming off an excellent week of baseball. They went 5-1 in their six-game road trip against the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cleveland Guardians. The Phillies have won five straight series dating back to late last month when they were swept in three games at Citi Field by the New York Mets.
However, the Phillies showed us that when their pitching and hitting are in sync, they are one of the best teams in the National League.
In particular, two Phillies really stood out on this road trip, while another Phillie needs to get back on track as Philadelphia returns to the friendly confines of Citizens Bank Park for a six-game homestand.
Kyle Schwarber’s Stock is Up
The veteran designated hitter continues to show why he’s one of the best power hitters in the game right now, and is destined for a huge new contract either during the season or afterwards.
Last week, Schwarber slashed .400/.444/.760 with three home runs and six RBI against Tampa Bay and Cleveland. He’s also stolen two bases, drawn two walks, and only struck out four in 25 at-bats.
Two of Schwarber’s three home runs came in the Phillies’ 3-0 series win over the Guardians on Sunday Night Baseball. Schwarber hit a 392-foot solo home run off Luis Ortiz with relative ease in the second inning.
KYLE SCHWARBER 46 CONSECUTIVE GAMES REACHING BASE MY GOODNESSpic.twitter.com/eSNrNlcxIW
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) May 11, 2025
Schwarber extended his on-base streak to an incredible 46 games with that home run. Then, in the eighth inning, the 32-year-old slugger gave the Phillies some breathing room, crushing a two-run home run off reliever Tim Herrin.
Kyle Schwarber's second 💣 of the night ties Aaron Judge for the Major League home run lead with 14! pic.twitter.com/O5Q14WoZ94
— MLB (@MLB) May 12, 2025
Some people wondered how Schwarber would perform without being in the lead-off spot, and thus far, he’s been outstanding hitting behind Bryce Harper. The veteran slugger is hitting .269 with 14 home runs and 32 RBI.
Schwarber also owns a .998 OPS, which is higher than his career average (.840). He’ll try to carry that momentum into this week against the St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Steelers.
Alec Bohm’s Stock is Up
We could’ve gone with a couple of candidates for the second spot — Taijuan Walker, Ranger Suarez, and Brandon Marsh come to mind. However, Alec Bohm is coming off a good week of baseball, which is great news for the Phillies.
The veteran third baseman entered this month with a .222 batting average, which has improved by 26 points to .248. Last week, Bohm slashed .389/.450/.556 with a home run and two RBI. He also didn’t strike out much, tallying four in 18 at-bats.
Alec Bohm cracks his first homer of the season 🔥 pic.twitter.com/KHBR0kgod1
— MLB (@MLB) May 6, 2025
Bohm is currently in the midst of a seven-game hitting streak, which started on May 3 against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Phillies are excited to see Bohm pick it up at the plate, as he struggled mightily to start the 2025 campaign.
In March/April, the 28-year-old third baseman hit a mediocre .221 at the plate with four doubles, a triple, and eight RBI. He also had a BAbip of .269 in 28 games. In fact, things were getting so bad for Bohm that fans were calling for the Phillies to bring up Otto Kemp from Triple-A Lehigh Valley, who has been crushing the ball this season.
Luckily for Bohm, the Phillies haven’t made that decision, and he’s turned it around at the plate, sporting a .344 batting average and .417 BAbip this month. We still have a couple more weeks left this month, but Bohm is off to an outstanding start.
Max Kepler’s Stock is Down
The veteran outfielder entered the May with a .253 batting average, but saw it drop down to .233 after this past week’s action.
Kepler struggled mightily over the six-game road trip, hitting a terrible .091 (2-22) with a double and three RBI. The only two hits the 32-year-old outfielder had was in the Phillies’ 7-0 win over the Rays on May 7 and their 7-1 win over the Guardians on May 10.
For the season, the veteran outfielder is slashing .233/.320/.411 with five home runs and 14 RBI. The left-handed hitter played much better against right-handed starting pitching (.241 with seven doubles, five home runs and 13 RBI) than he did against southpaws (.154 with a double and an RBI).
The Phillies hope Kepler will turn it around on this homestand as he’s hitting .238 with an OPS of .808 at Citizens Bank Park this season. However, Kepler’s BAbip is only .225, which means he’s not putting many balls in play.