Phillies Have Done Something Not Accomplished in 35 Years

The Philadelphia Phillies completed a three-game sweep of the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday with a 5-2 victory, capping a month unlike any the franchise has produced in more than three decades.

USA TODAY baseball columnist Bob Nightengale noted that August marked the first month in 35 years in which the Phillies recorded four sweeps of three or more games. The club took three-game sets from the Minnesota Twins, Miami Marlins, St. Louis Cardinals and Angels.

“This is the first month the Phillies have had four sweeps of 3 or more games in 35 years,” Nightengale wrote on X.

Philadelphia improved to 77-60 and remained five games behind the National League East-leading Atlanta Braves, who entered Sunday at 82-55. The Phillies went 20-7 in August and have used the surge to stay in the thick of the NL wild-card race.

Zack Wheeler allowed one run in six innings Sunday. Edmundo Sosa hit a tiebreaking homer in the seventh, and pinch-hit contributions from Luis Arraez and Brandon Marsh plus a Bryce Harper RBI double provided insurance.

The month’s first sweep came against Minnesota on Aug. 13-16, when Philadelphia won 7-1, 9-1 and 7-5. The Phillies then swept Miami at home, 6-5, 6-4 and 4-1, before taking three from St. Louis, 7-6, 12-3 and 6-4.

A brief stumble in Seattle — two losses in a three-game set — interrupted the run. Philadelphia answered immediately in Anaheim, winning 5-3 on Friday behind Sosa’s pinch-hit grand slam, 4-2 in 10 innings Saturday and 5-2 on Sunday.

Kyle Schwarber, 33, has been the offensive centerpiece. The designated hitter leads the majors with 40 home runs and has driven in 82 runs while slashing .244/.359/.530. He reached 40 homers for the fourth time in five seasons and delivered a walk-off homer against St. Louis on Aug. 23.

Cristopher Sánchez, 29, has anchored the rotation at 16-4 with a 2.52 ERA and 202 strikeouts in 175 1/3 innings. The left-hander threw seven scoreless innings Saturday, allowing two hits and one walk while striking out eight. He posted a 1.72 ERA in August.

The turnaround traces to April 28, when president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski fired manager Rob Thomson after a 9-19 start. Interim manager Don Mattingly has gone 68-41 since taking over.

Philadelphia sat 10 1/2 games behind Atlanta in May, climbed within 2 1/2 games by early July, then faded again before the August tear. The Phillies have won 12 of 14 games at times during the stretch and posted a nine-game winning streak that ended in Seattle.

Arraez, acquired at the trade deadline, has given the lineup a contact bat and is hitting .317. Harper, Trea Turner and Alec Bohm have supplied late-inning production, and the bullpen has closed out extra-inning and one-run games.

Critics have pointed to August’s schedule, which included Minnesota, Miami, St. Louis and the last-place Angels rather than a run of division leaders. Nightengale’s historical note still framed the month as rare franchise territory.

The Phillies next visit the Arizona Diamondbacks for three games beginning Monday, then return home to face Atlanta. A 20-7 August does not erase a five-game deficit, but four series sweeps in one month have restored a club that began the year among the majors’ worst.

Sánchez is lined up for the Atlanta series. Schwarber remains the first player in the majors to 40 homers. Mattingly, still without a contract beyond 2026, continues to manage a team that has gone from 10 games under .500 to 17 games over.

For a franchise that had not produced a month with four such sweeps since 1991, August became proof that the second-half surge is more than a handful of fortunate nights.