No one has benefited from the Phillies’ first-inning bonanza like Alec Bohm. Almost half (14) of his 32 RBIs have come in the first inning of games. That’s life as the cleanup hitter on the team that starts better than any other in baseball.
So, it was entertaining to see Bohm have a different perspective in the first inning of Sunday’s eventual 10-inning loss to the Marlins. Bohm batted second for the first time all season. Whit Merrifield struck out to begin the game, then Bohm attacked a first-pitch slider and socked it to left for a double.
There is something to knowing what you want and seizing it. This was the sixth time in 23 first-inning plate appearances that Bohm put the first pitch in play. He has three extra-base hits and five RBIs on those six swings.
The Phillies have often defended leading off Kyle Schwarber because, in manager Rob Thomson’s opinion, it puts immediate pressure on the opponent. Schwarber has one of the quickest bats in the game and can generate offense with one swing.
The entire top of the lineup has adopted that mantra.
The Phillies have played 41 games and they have scored 41 first-inning runs. The most first-inning runs they’ve ever scored in a season was 134 in 1932. (The modern mark is 130 runs in 2007.) As a team, the 2024 Phillies are hitting .322/.397/.561 in the first inning.
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That current .958 OPS would be the highest in club history. (Long ways to go.) The modern first-inning standard is a .988 OPS by the 2000 Cardinals. Last year, the Braves posted a .982 OPS in the first inning.
It’s a hard pace to continue. But the Phillies have seen how powerful combining consistent first-inning offense with stellar starting pitching is.
Bryce Harper likes to call the final game of a three-game series in which the Phillies have won the first two a “bonus game.” The goal is to win series. Sweeping them is a sweet bonus. They’ve already had four sweeps this year, and it’s why they have the best record in baseball (28-13) despite missing a sweep against hapless Miami.
The Phillies are piecing together lineups right now, and that’s been felt the most at the top. Life without all three of Schwarber, Trea Turner and J.T. Realmuto — even for a few days — presents a challenge.
Bohm has tailed off a bit. He’s still in the middle of it all.
Bryson Stott walking the walk
This is the version of Stott the Phillies envisioned — the next leap that made him an on-base and slugging threat. He is hitting .348/.475/.652 in his last 14 games (59 plate appearances). He has raised his season OPS by 229 points in that span. He is walking 14 percent of the time — more than double his rate a season ago.
He has always been adept with two strikes; he tied for the major-league lead in two-strike hits last season. But, too often, Stott believed he worked deep counts at the expense of passing on a hittable pitch during the at-bat. A pitch he could drive.
Now, he’s driving pitches that most cannot reach.
Like anything, Stott’s true level is somewhere between his dismal first 22 games and his shining last 14 games. Stott’s performance last season was dependent on his batting average. It’s easier to sustain some slumps with the bat by walking a few more times. Stott walked three more times Sunday to reach 19 for the season. He did not notch his 19th walk last season until July 15.
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It’ll be interesting to see how Thomson handles Stott moving forward. The Phillies have faced a lefty starter 16 times this season. Stott has started in eight of those games. Time and time again, when asked about Stott, Thomson has reiterated that he views the young infielder as an everyday player. His struggles early in the season opened the door for Thomson to direct Stott’s at-bats against lefties to some of his reserves. But, now that Stott has found a better rhythm, it will be difficult to remove him from the lineup.
The Phillies face another lefty, Sean Manaea, on Monday night in New York.
Orion Kerkering 2.0
It’s no accident the Phillies have eased him into the mix; Kerkering has yet to pitch on back-to-back days this season. He had, at this time last year, thrown only 11 1/3 innings in 10 minor-league games. He had never been a full-time reliever until 2023, so the Phillies managed his workload until the summer. He was still fresh in September.
Kerkering, counting his minor-league rehab outings this season, has amassed 15 innings in 14 games. He’s surrendered seven hits in 10 2/3 MLB innings but all of them were singles. He hasn’t always had his best command. He has not pitched in many high-leverage situations, and he looks like an inexperienced reliever still learning how to best attack big-league hitters.
The Phillies promised Kerkering would not be as slider-dependent as he was last season. They asked Kerkering to tinker with a sinker in the offseason, and that prompted an outsized amount of attention on that pitch. (Kerkering, for what it’s worth, has always maintained the sinker would be a “show-me” pitch that he could pull out of his back pocket. Of his 179 total pitches this season, he’s thrown only six sinkers.) But he could benefit from throwing more four-seam fastballs, which he has. Kerkering has more than doubled his fastball usage.
The four-seam fastball has been a great pitch to righties. It is improving against lefties.
Kerkering will have his late-inning chances. The Phillies haven’t had to lean on the bullpen for weeks now — a rare luxury. Jeff Hoffman is atop the righty reliever hierarchy. Kerkering is next.
(Top photo of Alec Bohm: Peter Joneleit / Icon Sportswire / Associated Press)
