The Phillies are coming back home as the calendar flips to May.
They've been keeping afloat through the season's first month, but a hot start marked by series wins over the Nationals, Rockies, and Dodgers was counterbalanced by obstacles and setbacks against clubs they very well could be dealing with later in the Giants, Braves, Mets, and Cubs.
It definitely wasn't the Phillies' greatest few weeks to start, with some early concerns making themselves evident quick. But they'd much rather deal with them now instead of later.
"We're grinding now," shortstop Trea Turner told ESPN Sunday night after the Phillies took two of three from the Cubs in Chicago. "I think going through adversity in the beginning of the year is good for us. We got off to a great start last year, and then kinda fizzled at the end, so having to play these tough teams early on and try to figure out our weaknesses and where we can get better, I think, is really big. I think it's gonna benefit us later in the year."
Time will tell.
But here's what the numbers say about the Phillies right now…
26.3
The Phillies' chase rate percentage, which is the sixth-best mark in the majors.
Swinging after balls that fell way out of the zone was the Phillies' notorious Achilles' heel last season, especially once they got to October, but there seems to have been a concerted effort so far to correct that.
And the results do show.
By comparison, the Phillies' chase rate in 2024 was at 30.3 percent, which came in at 25th in baseball.
The improvement in that regard has been significant, though granted, across a still small sample size.
120
The number of walks the Phillies have drawn, which is third in the majors behind the Diamondbacks in second (121) and the Mariners in first (125).
Individually, Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber are also in a four-way tie for the fourth-most walks in the majors with 23 each – alongside Boston's Rafael Devers and St. Louis' Lars Nootbaar.
And hey, those free bases are great, but you do have to make good on those setups.
That's where the Phillies' bats have struggled so far, or at least have seemed to.
.260
The Phillies' batting average as a club with runners in scoring position, which is 10th in the majors as of Monday, and maybe higher than most would've expected just from watching.
.375
But maybe that's because the power isn't quite there.
The Phillies are slugging .375 as a club, coming in at 23rd in baseball.
Moreover…
22
The number of home runs they've hit so far ranks out at 25th, which is notable for a core that has been known to live and die by the long ball.
They had 40 by the end of the season's first month last year.
21
The number of double plays the Phillies have grounded into so far, which puts them in a three-way tie for the sixth-most with the Mets and the Orioles.
They're inevitable, but they're never a trap a team wants to fall in that often.
MORE: Aaron Nola dominates, Phils keep afloat with series win over Cubs
3.42
The combined ERA for the Phillies' starting rotation, which is the sixth-best mark in the majors after this weekend's Cubs series, and comes along with the fourth-most innings pitched by a club's starters so far this season at 157.2.
Starting pitching was arguably the Phillies' greatest strength heading into 2025, and while they haven't been perfect, they have been a safety net so to speak whenever they can go deep into games.
Zack Wheeler remains as the ace at the top, Aaron Nola finally put in a solid outing Sunday night, Jesús Luzardo is looking like one of the bigger steals of the offseason, and Cristopher Sánchez continues to push toward greater heights.
Hopefully, Ranger Suárez is on track to get back in the mix soon, too.
5.28
The combined ERA for the Phillies' relievers, which definitely hasn't been a strength for them at the second-worst clip in the majors.
Only Washington's bullpen, with a 6.20 ERA is worse.
They've been able to go to Matt Strahm and José Alvarado as their leverage arms, but they can't pitch them every night, which is a problem when the other options so far have ranged from fans either holding their breath or looking at the ground just waiting for the blowup.
The Phillies miss Jeff Hoffman much more than they might've realized.
1.33
The win probability added from the Phillies' starting pitchers, which speaks more to how vital they are to the club's success. That number ranks eighth-best in the majors.
-0.04
The win probability added from the Phillies' relievers, which comes in at 21st in the majors.
Yeah, the bullpen is bad.
But to their credit, they held the line in Chicago to close out the series Sunday night. Jordan Romano even got a quick 1-2-3 inning to close out the 10th and get the save.
Hey, it's something.
*STAT SOURCES: Baseball-Reference, Baseball Savant, FanGraphs
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