5 takeaways from Phillies' first 5 games

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There’s no denying the 2023 season hasn’t gotten off to the start the Phillies expected on the heels of winning the National League pennant. Philadelphia still has 97% of its regular season left to play, but here are five takeaways from the club’s first five games:

Bohm is ready to make a leap
There was speculation that Alec Bohm may be a bigger offensive threat this season, particularly in the power category -- and he wasted no time fueling that fire on Opening Day. Bohm teed off on a 99.3 mph fastball from two-time Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom for a two-run homer, one of three hits in the opener.

Bohm added another three-hit game on Monday, and even when he failed to reach base Tuesday for the first time this season, he registered a 106.8 mph line out -- his 10th hard-hit ball this season, per Statcast.

Where will the power come from?
Kyle Schwarber, who hit an NL-leading 46 home runs last season, went deep for the first time in 2023 on Tuesday. Brandon Marsh added a solo shot two innings later.

Those two homers came after the Phils hit just one in their first four games -- tied for the fewest in the Majors entering Tuesday. They hit 205 last season (sixth in MLB).

But with Bryce Harper (18 homers in 99 games last season) sidelined and Rhys Hoskins (30 homers in 2022) out for the season, the Phillies need their power to come from other sources.

Bohm is a good bet for a bump from his ’22 total. Trea Turner, who hit 21 for the Dodgers last year, should help to pick up the slack. But Nick Castellanos getting closer to his 34-homer form in 2021 than his 13-homer form in '22 could be a difference maker.

Speaking of …

Castellanos is ... back?
It's obviously way too early to know how things will unfold for Castellanos, but there have been some encouraging signs.

For starters, Castellanos -- who had a career-worst 39.6% chase rate last season -- worked two walks in Sunday's loss. He had just three multi-walk games all of last season. He also entered Tuesday night with a chase rate of just 22.0%, albeit a very small sample.

Castellanos’ improved patience has coincided with three doubles -- a staple of his game when he's right at the plate. He led all players in doubles from 2014-21 (averaging 42 per 162 games), but he hit just 27 last season.

Find the zone
Matt Strahm put on a strike-throwing clinic in his season debut for a Phillies team that badly needed an efficient outing. The lefty reliever-turned-starter threw 42 of 61 pitches for strikes (68.9%) in four scoreless innings vs. the Yankees.

The Phils had a strike percentage of just 59.3% in their four losses, a mark that ranked 29th in MLB. They also issued an average of 5.9 walks per nine innings through those first four games, which also ranked 29th.

For a team that has struggled on the mound at times in recent seasons, particularly with free passes, the Phillies will need to continue pounding the zone as they did in win No. 1.

It's still early
Sure, the Phillies are trying to pull off what only one of the previous 118 World Series champions has done after their slow start, but the four-game skid is certainly magnified a bit since it happened right out of the gate.

After all, Philadelphia had six four-game losing streaks last season -- and even had two five-game skids in September. That all turned out pretty well.

In addition, the Phillies are still trying to piece together the right lineup combo after losing Hoskins, and they hope to eventually get contributions from Harper, Ranger Suárez and Andrew Painter.

From Schwarberfest to Schwar-Bomb

After Schwarber’s wildly successful partnership with Wawa last October, the Phillies slugger announced an exclusive partnership on Tuesday with another local merchant -- Yards Brewing Co.

Schwarber will serve as the new brand ambassador for the brewery’s “Philly Standard” line of beer, which will include limited edition cans that feature Schwarber’s likeness. The Yards Philly Standard, a golden ale, is available now, and the limited-edition Schwarber cans and packaging will be available in April at local and regional retail locations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.

Meanwhile, anytime Schwarber hits a home run -- as he did on Tuesday -- fans watching the game at Yards Taproom will receive a free can of Philly Standard. Yards Brewing Co. was founded in Manayunk, Pa., in 1994. The brewery has since moved four times, but it never left city limits -- and it is currently located on Spring Garden Street in Philadelphia.

“It’s always a goal for me and my family, whenever we’re in a city, we want to try to connect as much as we can to the city,” Schwarber said. “When an opportunity like this presents itself, it’s a city thing -- not a national thing -- and that’s something that I always want to jump on. When you can promote the good that’s going on in your own city, that’s fun for me.”

So, could Schwarber see himself being doused by a can with his own face on it during a potential future clinching celebration?

“No, no -- never,” Schwarber said with a laugh. “It’s never about me. This is about the city. And if we’re celebrating, it’s about the city and the team.”