Down a run in the bottom of the 10th, seven-game winning streak hanging in the balance, the Phillies had exactly the guy they wanted digging in. Alec Bohm of course, and trust me, it’s wild to even write that.
The same Alec Bohm who’s spent half this season getting booed out of the building and buried in the order crushed the biggest hit of the night, a walk-off two-run triple to send everyone home happy in a 7-6 win over the Cardinals.
Seven straight. This team is on fire and I’m here for every second of it.
Alec Bohm is UNSTOPPABLE
The Alec Bohm Redemption Tour Is in Full Swing
Let’s talk about Alec Bohm, because you cannot write this stuff. After a three-run bomb on Opening Day, the man disappeared into one of the most frustrating seasons of his career, hitting eighth at times and catching absolute hell from this fanbase.
I’ll be honest, I threw plenty of shade his way too. He deserved it, but lately he’s a completely different dude. He looks like the guy who twice drove in 97 runs and made the All-Star team in 2024, and Friday night was the mic drop.
Bottom of the 10th, Cardinals just went ahead, and Alec Bohm laced a no-out triple to center to plate two and end it, capping a three-RBI night before getting swarmed by his teammates on the field.
In 19 August games, Alec Bohm is hitting .371 with a .945 OPS and 15 RBIs, and despite all the early-season misery, he’s now tied with Schwarber for the team lead with 74 RBIs. The confidence is oozing out of the guy right now. After everything, he’s turned into a legitimate weapon in the biggest spots, and it’s honestly awesome to watch.
The vibes in that ballpark told the whole story, and it’s peak Philly. Schwarber, on his OWN bobblehead night, whiffed in the ninth and got booed as the game rolled to extras. Then the Cardinals grabbed a run in the 10th and it looked ugly.
Then Bohm crushed that triple and the entire building went from booing to absolutely losing its mind in an instant. That’s this city, baby. We’ll boo you into oblivion when you earn it and then scream ourselves hoarse the second you come through.
Alec Bohm came through.
The August Blueprint Is a Thing of Beauty
Here’s the part I can’t stop talking about, because it’s exactly what I’ve been preaching since Arraez walked in the door. The Phillies won Friday without hitting a SINGLE home run, and that’s become their whole identity this month. They’re 14-5 in August, and they’re doing it by getting on base, mashing with runners in scoring position, and manufacturing runs the old-fashioned way.
Feast on these numbers.
They’re 28th in the majors with just 15 homers this month, but they’re FIRST in on-base percentage at .370, SECOND in runs with 104, third in average at .276, and DEAD FIRST in baseball hitting .317 with runners in scoring position.
That’s a total 180 from the homer-or-bust, all-or-nothing group that infuriated us for months. Don’t try to do too much, just get on, move the line, cash the runners. That’s the recipe for October, because THIS is the approach that survives when playoff pitching clamps down and the three-run homer stops coming.
Luzardo Won the War Even Without His Best
Shoutout to the comment section.
Jesus Luzardo didn’t have it all the way Friday, but he grinded and the Phillies won the war behind him. He got tagged for two two-run shots, one in the first and one in the sixth, and got pulled at 5 2/3. The fastball was electric, touching 99, but he just never found the feel for that filthy sweeper of his, which is usually the pitch that makes him unfair.
The one that’ll bug him is the Jordan Walker homer, yeah, the Home Run Derby champ from right there at Citizens Bank Park last month. Luzardo had him 0-2 and couldn’t finish him, then served up a full-count 97-mph heater that Walker deposited.
When you’ve got a guy 0-2, you HAVE to bury him, and Luzardo knows it. But the beauty of this current team is it doesn’t matter, because the lineup just picks you up. That’s the luxury this deeper offense provides now.
Right in the Middle of a Pennant Race
So here’s where we stand. Seven in a row, a season high, and smack in the thick of a pennant race with 33 to play. The Phillies own the second Wild Card, but they’re now just FOUR back of first-place Atlanta in the NL East, and these two square off SEVEN times in September.
That division is very much alive the way this team is swinging it.
