For the Phillies, sticking with the status quo has had some benefits during the hot start to the season originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Phillies spent a lot of money this offseason, but most of it went to retaining the services of right-handed starters Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola, leading some observers to give the front office a fish-eye.
Shouldn’t a team that’s really trying to win spend at least one hot new free agent?
Apparently not. By beating the Rangers 5-2 on Thursday at Citizens Bank Park, the Phils maintain the best record in baseball. And there was a general feeling in the clubhouse as the players packed for the upcoming road trip to Colorado and San Francisco that maintaining the status quo had some benefits that might not have been apparent at first.
Manager Rob Thomson has talked a lot about the unusual chemistry this group has and has often said that after losing the 2023 World Series and being eliminated by the Diamondbacks last year, the urgency to get across the finish line has increased.
In this sense, reversing it meant that the equilibrium remained largely undisturbed.
“We all know each other well,” noted righthander Zack Wheeler. “We know for the most part what we are going to do on the field in certain situations. And that is always big.”
Right fielder Nick Castellanos added: “This is the best team I have ever been a part of. It’s a lot of fun. Winning is hard, even if you hold the same pieces together for a long time. So the fact that we can feel adversity together, feel triumph together, only makes our bond as a group stronger.
“So hats off to the ownership and the front office, who believe in the pieces that are already there. I can’t speak for the whole team. I can speak for myself that I found it very difficult to enjoy the off-season, even when I was on vacation, just because of the way the season ended.
When shortstop Trea Turner went on the injured list with a strained left hamstring, it was a huge loss. But Edmundo Sosa stepped up. In 14 consecutive starts, he is batting .341. On Wednesday night, he hit a three-run homer to give starter Taijuan Walker some breathing room. On Thursday, he had his first three-hit game in two years and also made a great catch on a pop-up in shallow left.
“We all know what we are here for. We all know where we want to go,” he said through interpreter Diego D’Aniello. “We all know what our goal is. We want to go out and finish something that we’ve put on hold right now.”
NEXT ONE: LHP Cristopher Sanchez (2-3, 3.31) will start against LHP Ty Blach (1-2, 5.14) on Friday at 8:40 PM when the Phillies open a weekend series against the last-place Rockies at Coors Field. It will be RHP Aaron Nola (6-2, 3.05) vs. RHP Dakota Hudson (1-7, 5.89) Saturday at 9:10 PM and LHP Ranger Suarez (9-0, 1.36) vs. RHP Cal Quantrill (3- 3, 3.59) Sunday.
Despite having one of the worst records in baseball, Colorado has had a bit of a resurgence recently. They were on a seven-game winning streak from May 9-15, including sweeps of the Rangers and Padres, and are a relatively respectable 9-12 (.429) at home. . .They were swept on April 15-16-17 at Citizens Bank Park, but two of the games were decided by one point.
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