Despite a 4-2 loss last night, the Phillies have regained some footing in the NL East and are starting to look like their old selves again after winning four in a row after the New York sweep and the rain delay loss in the first game with the Cubs. While the Phillies haven’t been outstanding in this first month of play, they still haven’t fallen off the way the 2010 Phillies did, and are still in contention for a playoff spot when all is said and done, even with a highly dominant National League. Despite their inconsistent power offensively, a questionable defense at times, and an extremely shaky bullpen (minus a few key players), the Phillies are finally starting to get back into the day-to-day of the 162-game season.

Game one against their NL East opponents, the Washington Nationals, was a close call as the Phillies saw a quick 3-0 lead from the first three innings of the game disappear when Phillies’ ace, Zack Wheeler, gave up a solo shot to Nats second baseman, Luis García Jr, in the top of the sixth. While the score was only 3-1 at that point, Wheeler started to slip a little after that home run. When he came out for the seventh, He gave up a two-out double to Nationals outfielder, Jacob Young. Topper decided that after 6.2 innings and seven strikeouts, that was enough for one night, calling upon lefty Matt Strahm to find the final out of the inning; however, as soon as Strahm was brought in, Nationals shortstop, CJ Abrams, also doubled to right and scored the young centerfielder that was standing on second, giving Wheels a second earned run on the game. The Phils tacked two more runs in the bottom of the eighth, adding some insurance to their lead. Johan Rojas is returning to form, starting the rally in the series opener off with a single to center, then the scorching hot Trea Turner doubled to right, bringing the speedy Phillies center fielder home. Then, we got to see Bryce Harper’s baseball knowledge hard at work as he laid down a bunt, moving The Flash–Trea Turner– to third as Harper reached first. The National defense became sloppy as the game continued to roll on in the late innings. While still in the bottom of the eighth, the Nationals’ reliever, Jose Ferrer, tossed a wild pitch that the catcher could not block, moving Harper to second while Turner scored, bringing the Phillies’ lead up to 5-2. The top of the ninth had finally arrived; all the Phillies needed to do was get three outs.

Orion Kerkering came in to pitch for the Phils, giving up a one-out single to C.J. Abrams, who then quickly scored after a double from James Wood. The Phils hoped to promptly get the second out with a routine grounder to short, but Trea Turner had other plans. After a throwing error, he was safe, but the Phillies did end up paying for Turner’s mistake as Nathaniel Lowe smashed a three-run homer into the right field stands on a sweeper that fell to the outer corner of the zone. With the Nationals now up 6-5, the Phils had their backs against the wall going into the game’s final frame. The red-hot Alec Bohm stepped up to the plate and singled out to right, followed by a Stott walk, and a sac fly from Max Kepler that moved Bohm over to third. With runners on the corners, the Nationals pitcher, Kyle Finnegan, began to stress after a Stott steal at second. Rojas stepped up, hitting a sacrifice fly that scored Bohm and moving Stott over to third. Now a tie game, with a runner on third, Turner’s fiery bat came to the plate, and thanks to yet another wild pitch, Bryson Stott was able to sneakily score on a wild pitch, giving the Phillies their third consecutive win.

Game two was a hitting masterclass for the Phillies as they took game two 7-2. Right out of the gate, the bats were working as Schwarber hit a homer in the first for the second consecutive game; however, he wasn’t the only one who went yard in the second game against the Nats. Kepler hit just his third home run of the season against Nationals starter Jake Irvin. One of the other most relevant storylines from the game came from Phillies starter Christopher Sanchez, who many were worried would need a stint on the IL as he left his previous start against the Mets in just the second inning after feeling some forearm tightness. Without needing an MRI, it was quickly determined that Sanchez could start the game, and he gave it his all, ending his third win of the season with a stat line of five innings pitched, five hits, two earned runs, six strikeouts, and three walks. While there wasn’t anything crazy happening during the game, it was clear to see that the Phillies’ offense has certainly started to bounce back after a rough showing towards the tail end of last week’s homestand and the series in New York, as they outhit the Nats in game two, ten to five.

Max missile 🚀#RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/PN4oeZR2DK

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) May 1, 2025

Last night’s game was a bit of a whirlwind as the Nationals pitcher, Brad Lord, pitched quickly and efficiently to help the Nats avoid the sweep. With the Phillies donning their powder blue uniforms, they hoped to close out the series against the Nationals while gaining some ground in the NL East race after the Mets lost their second straight game. Lord, the Nationals’ rookie righthander, earned his first win of his career in last night’s loss after striking out four and walking one. In the fifth, Alec Bohm earned another RBI in a single, which put the Phillies up 1-0. That success was quickly forgotten as the Nationals retaliated in the sixth against the consistently terrible Taijuan Walker, who crumbled in the mid-innings of the game yet again despite only having one hit over five innings before his collapse. While the Phillies didn’t get the sweep, some key players had a successful game despite the offense not coming through in the later innings. Trea Turner had yet another three-hit game, representing the Phillies’ second and final run of the game. He wasn’t the only one who had a good night, because Kyle Schwarber, after a walk in the eighth inning, extended his on-base streak to 37 consecutive games, starting back to the end of the 2024 season.

The Phillies open up a three-game set against the Arizona Diamondbacks tonight in hopes of getting hot again before they head out for a road trip to face the Rays and Guardians. The Dbacks are expected to regain their All-Star second baseman, Ketel Marte, in the 6:45 start this evening. Tune in tonight to see if the Phillies’ key offseason acquisition, Jesús Luzardo, can continue the successful tenure he’s foraging with his new team against the Diamondbacks veteran ace Merrill Kelly, and stay tuned for the end of the series when we will finally see the return of Philly’s favorite southpaw, Ranger Suárez.