It was July 3, too soon by any reasonable measure for scoreboard watching. But it was also Sunday Night Baseball, the last game of the day, so the opportunity facing the Phillies was hard to miss.
The Atlanta Braves already lost. The San Francisco Giants did too. With a win over the St. Louis Cardinals, another National League contender, the Phillies could pull within 1 1/2 games of a playoff spot.
Sure enough, Rhys Hoskins and J.T. Realmuto came through with home runs against Cardinals mainstay Adam Wainwright and Zack Wheeler tossed seven scoreless innings in a 4-0 victory before 44,225 patrons at sold-out Citizens Bank Park.
The postgame fireworks were practically a bonus.
Now, a word of caution: The whole thing could still go sideways. Bryce Harper just had thumb surgery, after all. Jean Segura is out with a broken finger. Before the game, lefty Ranger Suárez joined fellow starter Zach Eflin on the injured list. And shortstop Didi Gregorius has a knee injury that won’t abate.
But Tuesday will mark the midpoint of the schedule. The Phillies are 42-38, and although a lot can -- and most certainly will -- happen over the final 82 games, they are well positioned to be relevant throughout the summer.
That’s half the battle.
If the Phillies are going to at least tread water until Harper gets back -- and they just completed a week in which they went 3-3 against the Braves and Cardinals -- the old reliables must lead them. That means Hoskins and Realmuto, Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos, Wheeler and co-ace Aaron Nola.
When Hoskins gets on a hot streak, he’s capable of carrying the offense. Don’t look now, but since Memorial Day, he’s hitting .322/.428/.670 with eight doubles, 10 homers, and 19 RBIs in 32 games.
This would be an opportune time for Realmuto to take off, too. After hitting three homers in his first 254 plate appearances, he has gone deep three times in his last 33 trips to the plate.
Hoskins broke a scoreless tie in the fourth inning by jumping on a cutter from Wainwright and driving it out to left field. He also started a sixth-inning rally with a leadoff double and scored on Castellanos’ single.
Two batters later, and with the Phillies short on options in the bullpen, Realmuto provided some breathing room by bashing one of Wainwright’s signature curveballs for a two-run homer.
The Phillies won the series with the Cardinals, who are directly in front of them in the wild-card standings. The teams meet again for four games next weekend in St. Louis.
Wheeler wins
After two shaky outings, at least by his standards, Wheeler was dominant. He gave up four hits -- all singles -- and didn’t allow a runner to reach second base, picking up his first win since June 16.
Wheeler’s fastball crackled as much as it has all season. He topped out at 98.9 mph, a season high, and although he got only 11 swings and misses (the Cardinals fouled off 32 pitches), he was in complete command.
Bullpen keeps rolling
The Phillies taxed their bullpen Friday night and Saturday, leaving them shorthanded. But after Wheeler completed seven innings, Nick Nelson and deposed closer Corey Knebel teamed up for the eighth and ninth.
Knebel, in particular, looked strong against the heart of the Cardinals’ order. He got early MVP candidate Paul Goldschmidt to ground out before striking out scorching-hot Nolan Arenado on a foul tip and whiffing rookie Nolan Gorman.
