Despite loss, Phils look to keep momentum going after 'really good homestand'

PHILADELPHIA -- The Phillies could have tied a Citizens Bank Park record on Wednesday with a 12th consecutive win at home.

Instead, they lost to Toronto, 5-3.

The Phils had not lost at the Bank since a Sunday afternoon game against the Pirates on April 14. They fell to 8-8 that day, and they continued to hear questions about slow starts. But the Phils have gone 18-4 since, even after Wednesday’s loss, building the best record in baseball and a 2 1/2-game lead over the Braves in the National League East.

Now the question is: how do they maintain that level of play?

“I don’t think you’re going to look around the room and see any happy faces,” Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber said. “Everyone is disappointed after a loss. It doesn’t matter if we’re 10 games above .500 or 10 games below .500. A loss is a loss. Our expectation every time we walk out of the clubhouse is to try to win the game. We’re expecting to win the game. I think that’s the mindset you [have to] have in this game when you play so many of them.”

The Phillies will open a three-game series on Friday night against the Marlins in Miami. The Marlins are one of the worst teams in baseball, especially after trading Luis Arráez last week to the Padres.

Marlins Park will be mostly empty this weekend.

It can be a challenge.

“You’ve got to internally create more energy,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “We have a good group of people that can do that with [Garrett] Stubbs and [Brandon] Marsh. They tend to bring it every day. That’s really the only thing for me.

“[The message] shouldn’t change. I think it’s just, ‘Keep going.’”

Phillies right-hander Aaron Nola carried a 1-1 tie into the sixth inning before allowing three runs to give Toronto a 4-1 lead. Blue Jays right-hander Chris Bassitt kept the Phillies in check into the seventh inning. He threw eight different pitches, the most they had seen from a pitcher since San Diego’s Yu Darvish on July 13, 2023.

“I felt like we were in the game and the fight the whole time,” Schwarber said. “I think that’s a good thing to look at.”

The Phillies trailed in the ninth, 5-2, when they scored a run. They had runners on second and third with one out, but Kody Clemens and Whit Merrifield each popped out to end the game.

“We were one swing away,” Schwarber said.

The Phillies won a record 12 consecutive games at Citizens Bank Park from July 8 to Aug. 6, 2010. This 11-game home winning streak is tied for the sixth-longest in franchise history.

The Phils won a franchise-record 16 consecutive games at home in 1977 and 1991.

After the Phillies play the Marlins, they have a home-and-home set against the Mets, then three games in Wasington against the Nats.

“We’ve really played well,” Thomson said. “We’ve played well on the road, too. Today was one of those days. But I’m really happy with where the club’s at right now. It was a really good homestand. I always say you’ve got to win within your division and you’ve got to win at home if you want to win the division. We accomplished that.”