MIAMI — The Phillies’ new-look outfield is making good on its newfound security.
After manager Rob Thomson appeared to settle on a consistent outfield platoon against righties, each of the outfielders he trotted out to face Miami right-hander Valente Bellozo homered in the team’s 9-3 win Friday night at loanDepot park.
Left fielder Brandon Marsh, center fielder Harrison Bader, and right fielder Max Kepler — batting 5-6-7 for Thomson Friday — each did damage via the long ball. Kepler’s shot went a Statcast-projected 410 feet to right-center field in the second, while Marsh and Bader mashed back-to-back home runs in the fourth.
It marked the seventh time Philly launched consecutive home runs this season, last doing so on August 15. It was also the first time since the second half of a doubleheader on October 1, 2022, that all three starting Phillies outfielders homered in the same game.
“It was a good game,” Thomson said postgame. “Everybody in the lineup had a hit tonight. Four home runs, that was huge. We saw 186 pitches, that was huge. I thought we had good at-bats through and through.”
Meanwhile, Cristopher Sánchez continued to do Cristopher Sánchez things on the bump. The 2024 All-Star had Marlins hitters guessing all night, giving up just one run and fanning five over seven innings. Sánchez relied most heavily on his sinker and changeup (utilizing both for over 80 percent of his pitches), earning each of his five punchouts via the two pitches, which carried a near 10-mph average velocity difference Friday.
Sánchez left the game after 82 pitches, while the Phillies put the finishing touches on their dominant day in the seventh, courtesy of an RBI single from Kepler and a three-run homer from Bryson Stott.
“He was really efficient,” Thomson said of his star pitcher. “[His] strike-throwing ability [made him effective]. Changeup was really good, had a lot of swing-and-miss, had a lot of soft contact. It was good that we had that lead and could get him out after seven. … He’s gonna be going on normal rest next time, so it was good.”
It was an all-around outstanding performance from the Fightin’ Phils, who maintained their six-game lead atop the NL East, while remaining 4 1/2 games behind the National League-leading Brewers (both the Brewers and Mets won Friday).
But the sweet-swinging outfielders garnered the most shine, and they played a large part behind the clubhouse festivities that proceeded after the win.
“That’s pretty cool,” Marsh said of each outfielder notching a home run. “I heard it was the first time since [‘22] that Philly did it. And that’s pretty cool. Kepler, good at-bat, Bader, good at-bat, and we try to feed off each other.”
Marsh, whose homer marked the 50th of his career, broke out his version of the “griddy” in the clubhouse after the win. The 27-year-old has been excellent at the plate since returning from a hamstring injury on May 3, having slashed .299/.355/.456 over his last 99 games.
Kepler, meanwhile, has had a huge hand in Philly’s success: The Phillies are now 14-1 in games that he’s homered in. He credited altering his approach during off-days to his surge.
“I think I sat four games in a row [at some point in the first half],” Kepler said, “and I had to accept [it] and swallow the ego, and understand that this is for the big picture, to win a World Series.
“Personally, on the days where I wasn’t playing, I just took BP, and did as much as I could when it came to swinging to stay locked in visually. … I’m really out there almost competing against whoever’s throwing BP, and trying to make it game-like.”
“Having played against him, I always thought that energy was a little loud,” he smiled. “But now that he’s on my team, I love the dude. … He’s a real team player on and off the field, brings energy … and makes people laugh. That’s important.”
Philly is gelling at the right time, and will rely on contributions from Weston Wilson and Nick Castellanos (who Thomson said would return to the lineup during the series) down the stretch as well.
“I feel like everyone [is strong],” Marsh said of the outfield, “Willy and Casty as well. … Casty’s made a career with his bat. … I feel like we have a really strong outfield, and I feel we can just run anyone out there and have a really good opportunity to win.”
