It was just over a week ago that the Phillies left St. Louis having been outscored by the Cardinals 14-7 over their three-game series.
Dropping the final two games of their weekday matchup, the Phillies fell to 9.5 games back in the National League East, with their spot in the Wild Card race in jeopardy.
Now, cue the Spider-Man theme because it is a brand new day.
The Phillies team that marched out of the cornfield in Dyersville, Iowa, for the Field of Dreams game looked like a new team, and they are here to stay. Accomplishing a double-sweep of the Minnesota Twins and Miami Marlins, the Phillies are now on a season-high six-game win streak and are 12 games above .500 for the first time since 2025.
Their 70-58 record places them in the second Wild Card position with a two-game lead on the San Diego Padres. Perhaps more importantly, the Phillies have cut the Atlanta Braves’ lead in the NL East race down to 5.0 games. Of the Phillies’ 34 games remaining, seven are against the Braves. The NL East pennant is still very much alive for the Phillies.
This turnaround is due in no small part to the mid-season approach shift at the plate. The Phillies, a team known for sacrificing strikeouts for power, have only struck out 107 times in August, the least in Major League Baseball. While they are also last in home run output, the team has walked a league-high 90 times and led the NL with 97 runs scored.
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This fundamental shift has been led in many regards by the team’s new third baseman: Bryson Stott. The infielder just ended what was the longest on-base streak of his career at 19 games, having gone 0-for-4 on Wednesday.
During that stretch, Stott batted .344 with a .988 OPS. His 21 walks and four strikeouts in the streak is a line so impressive that it has not been done since Albert Pujols from April to May 2008, per the Phillies.
Stott’s .487 OBP in August is second in Major League Baseball, topped by none other than his long-time friend and teammate Bryce Harper. Harper’s .518 OBP and 25 walks lead the league in August, demonstrating a major change in approach for the Showman.
The Phillies are not the only team that has done well recently, however. The Cardinals have scored 95 runs in the month of August, sitting right behind the Phillies on the NL leaderboard. Having lost only one series this month, the Cardinals have been hot as of late, winning five of their last eight games since hosting the Phillies.
Sitting a distant 13.5 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers for the NL Central crown, the Cardinals are focused on the Wild Card race, where they sit 2.5 games behind the Padres for the third slot.
Jordan Walker, who is set to make his return to Philadelphia after having defeated Kyle Schwarber in the 2026 Home Run Derby, is a key part of the Cardinals’ offense with a .333 average and .967 OPS this month.
Alec Burleson has also been a key contributor for the Cardinals this month, having gone yard six times while accruing a 1.077 OPS.
Jesús Luzardo will don the City Connect uniform Friday night to open the series for the Phillies.
Luzardo has been clocking in a tremendous season for the Phillies, owning a 3.23 ERA with 185 strikeouts, the sixth most across baseball this season.
Behind Luzardo will be Andrew Painter, who gets the start on Saturday. Painter allowed two runs in 5.1 innings against the Cardinals on August 10, but is coming off a difficult matchup in Minnesota that found him allowing five earned runs in five innings of work. The rookie owns a 6.43 ERA on the season.
Cristopher Sánchez will wrap the series up on Sunday’s afternoon matinee. The ace of the Phillies’ staff kept the Cardinals scoreless on August 11, allowing only four hits while striking out seven across six frames. Sánchez did not have his best stuff on Monday against the Marlins but kept the fish to one run despite allowing eight hits and three walks in six innings. Sánchez is behind Sandy Alcantára for the most innings pitched this season while owning the most wins in baseball with a 16-4 record.
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The Cardinals have not announced their starters for the series at the time of publishing. Given their current pitching rotation, it lines up that Hunter Dobbins, Andre Pallante, and Kyle Leahy will start the respective games.
This weekend is MLB Players’ Weekend, so keep an eye out for your favorite Phillies players donning personalized equipment on the field.
The first pitch for Friday night’s contest against the Cardinals is scheduled for 6:40 p.m.
