Philadelphia Phillies Set Franchise Record With Hot Start

The Philadelphia Phillies won again on Sunday, taking down the San Diego Padres 8-6 to finish off a three-game sweep at Petco Park. Bryson Stott smacked a pair of two-run homers, the offense banged out 12 hits and Taijuan Walker lasted into the seventh inning in his season debut.

It was the Phillies' fourth straight win and their 11th in their last 13 games, improving their record to 19-10. The 19 wins are a franchise record for most victories in the first month of the season, which is even more impressive given that Philadelphia 1) still has two games left in April and 2) started the season slowly, going 5-6 over its first 11 games.

The Phillies have done much of their winning through power and pitching. They lead the National League with 37 home runs after clobbering three more on Sunday. Seven players on the team already have multiple homers, led by Kyle Schwarber's seven.

Meanwhile, the pitching's been outstanding. Prior to Sunday, Philadelphia led the NL in several major pitching categories, including ERA, strikeouts, complete games and shutouts.

Much of the credit belongs to the starting rotation, which has been otherworldly. Prior to Walker's return, nobody in the rotation had an ERA higher than 3.20.

The Phillies have played well at home, going 10-6 at Citizens Bank Park. They've been even better on the road, going 9-4 in away games.

Philadelphia owns a +25 run differential and has been tremendous in one-run games, going 5-1. That speaks to the team's strong bullpen and timely hitting.

With two games left in April, the Phillies will try to eclipse 20 wins before the calendar flips to May. They'll continue their West Coast swing on Monday against Mike Trout's slumping Los Angeles Angels, who are 10-18 and have lost nine of their last 10 games.