Entering the 2023 season the Phillies’ offense was expected to be the catalyst for the club. However, the big story to this point has been the inconsistency of the bats in the lineup. The Phillies currently sit at 53-47 and the main reason they are above the .500 mark has been the team’s pitching— specifically the starting rotation.
After a rough few weeks to begin the season, the starting pitching has really become a strength for this ball club. Currently the starting pitching has an ERA of 4.19 over the course of the season— good for 13th in baseball. While that number is not impressive, the starters have amassed an ERA of 3.34 since June 1st which is second in MLB behind just the San Diego Padres.
Much of this can be attributed to Taijuan Walker performing much better than he had to begin the season, the return of Ranger Suárez, and Cristopher Sánchez pitching well as the fifth starter. While Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola have been pitching well overall, they have not been performing to the level of expectations they had coming into the season.
Starting pitchers to this point
To this point in the season, Wheeler has a 3.88 ERA in 118 1/3 innings pitched. Despite the higher-than-normal ERA, Wheeler still has a 2.88 FIP which indicates he has pitched much better than his ERA would indicate. It is likely that he will continue to be a solid anchor at the front of the Phillies’ rotation.
Nola has been a bit of a puzzle in 2023. He has thrown the second most innings in all of baseball but has surrendered 23 home runs to this point. His failure to keep the ball in the yard has inflated his ERA to 4.25 this season. Nola has pitched much better of late, however. Through four starts in July, he has tossed 27 2/3 innings with 31 strikeouts and just one walk. His ERA for the month is 3.25. Nola is a workhorse who has been near the league lead in innings pitched for the last few seasons. If he can figure out how to avoid the long ball, he should have much more success going forward.
Walker has a 4.11 ERA on the season, but has pitched much better in recent weeks. Since June 1st he has a 2.67 ERA in 54 innings pitched. His mid-season turnaround has been a huge factor in the rotation’s recent success. Suárez missed the two months of the season with a forearm injury. He has been less consistent, but his return has helped solidify the starting pitching. His 4.07 ERA is higher than normal, but once he starts hitting his spots it is likely that he will be more consistent going forward.
Sánchez has been the answer to the fifth starter question mark that plagued the Phillies through the early months of the season. Through eight starts, the left-hander has a 2.98 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP. Despite not recording a win yet on the season, Sánchez has done his job in almost every game that he has appeared in. He had a career high number of strikeouts in Monday night’s loss to the Baltimore Orioles.
The Phillies are very much alive in the Wild Card hunt. A big reason for that has been the club’s starting pitching. If the offense can begin to hit and score runs the Phillies should find themselves in a nice spot come season’s end. They have the pieces now it is time to execute.
