Phillies aim to 'stay the course' amid historic start

PHILADELPHIA -- Nobody knows what 2024 will ultimately have in store for the Phillies when all is said and done, but 50 games into the regular season, only one word properly sums up their play: historic.

Wednesday’s 11-4 victory over the Rangers at Citizens Bank Park lifted the Phillies’ record to 36-14, establishing the best 50-game start in franchise history. Only 42 other teams have ever won 36 of their first 50 games -- 26 of them in the Modern Era (since 1900) -- the last being the 2001 Mariners.

“What did they do at the end?” manager Rob Thomson said of that 116-win Mariners club, which lost in the ALCS. “You’ve got to keep going. You just got to keep grinding, keep pushing all the way through.”

Of those teams to win 36 of their first 50, only 11 have gone on to win the World Series, the most recent being the 1998 Yankees, who started 37-13 en route to a 114-win season and a Fall Classic win over the Braves (who, incidentally, are the last National League team to have such a start). Since 1940, only the 1953 Yankees, 1955 Dodgers, the 1984 Tigers and those historic ’98 Yankees have parlayed those 50-game starts into a World Series title.

The Phillies are hoping to join that list, otherwise, these 50 games will be a mere footnote.

“We’ve got a long way to go,” said Bryce Harper, who hit his team-leading 12th home run in the eighth inning. “You play a full season for a reason, so we just have to stay the course, stay confident and just keep doing our thing.”

• The hottest team starts in MLB history

Philadelphia -- which hasn’t lost consecutive games in four weeks -- has won five straight, eight of its last nine and 21 of its last 25 games. Since April 15, the Phillies have won 28 of 34 games, the first time they have had such a stretch since 1895.

Yes, you read that right: 1895. Surely you remember that squad, led by “Big Sam” Thompson, who hit .392 with 165 RBIs, and “Brewery Jack” Taylor, a 26-game winner who threw 335 innings.

We might not see such gaudy numbers this season, but the ones these Phillies are producing have been pretty darn impressive. Philly has scored at least four runs in each of its past 12 games, the first time in 20 years the Phils have rattled off such a streak. The club record is 17 straight games, set back in 1934. (We won’t delve into the roster for that club, which finished 56-93.)

“I think they're very confident,” Thomson said of his lineup. “Right now, it really doesn't matter what type of game we're in. We feel like somebody's going to do something to get it done. That's a good feeling to have.”

J.T. Realmuto and Edmundo Sosa homered and drove in three runs apiece, with Sosa’s fourth-inning blast breaking things open. Realmuto’s solo shot in the third extended his hitting streak to 12 games, matching his career high.

“As a team, you find value in winning and you find value in each guy doing their job,” Harper said. “When each guy looks in the mirror every day, we all just want to go out there and do our job. No matter the outcome or anything like that, it's on to the next one. It's got to be that kind of mentality.”

Taijuan Walker allowed two early runs before the Phillies offense broke out, but the right-hander wasn’t able to qualify for the win after giving up three runs in 4 2/3 innings. Walker allowed six hits and walked four, but four relievers combined for 4 1/3 innings of one-run ball, picking up the slack for their starter to finish off the historic win.

“The way we're playing right now, we feel like we're going to score six-plus runs every single time out,” Walker said. “We're just playing really good baseball. It’s really fun to be a part of.”

The Phillies are certainly having fun, which is hardly a surprise given that they seem to win every single day. But with 112 games still to play before the postseason, the Phillies aren’t resting on the laurels of their fast start.

“It’s cool, but we all know what we want to accomplish,” said Matt Strahm, who earned the win with 1 1/3 innings of relief. “Other Phillies clubs have won the World Series and that's the most impressive thing, so that's what we want to do.”