PHILADELPHIA -- One of the Phillies' most eventful homestands in recent memory came to an end with a lackluster 5-0 loss to the last-place Pirates on Sunday afternoon.

Still, the Phils went 7-4 during the 11-game stretch at Citizens Bank Park and retained their grasp on the second NL Wild Card spot. Heading into their six-game western swing, they sit 2 1/2 games ahead of the Padres and 4 games clear of the Brewers, who are currently the first team on the outside looking in.

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Though Sunday's showing snapped Philadelphia's six-game winning streak, there was plenty to like during the homestand. Aaron Nola turned in a vintage performance with his 11-strikeout shutout on Thursday against the Reds. J.T. Realmuto stayed hot, hitting .417 (15-for-36) with seven extra-base hits and nine RBIs in nine games. Nick Castellanos continued to turn his season around, batting .304 with a pair of homers.

And, oh yeah, Bryce Harper made his highly anticipated return on Friday -- and he promptly came through with a bases-loaded two-run single in his first at-bat.

"Taking two out of three from Pittsburgh, it's a great weekend for us," Harper said. "Of course, we're always looking forward to a sweep and trying to do that, but at the same time, we'll take that into the week and get ready for Arizona."

It wasn’t all positive, though.

The homestand started with dropping three of four to the first-place Mets. It ended with the Phillies dropping another series finale -- something that has been a bit of an issue of late.

They've lost five of their past six series finales -- and they've been shut out in four of them. Making matters worse, three of those four shutout losses came with Philadelphia seeking a series sweep.

Along those same lines, the Phillies have lost six straight day games -- and they've been held scoreless in four of those six. They were 22-14 in day games this season prior to the recent struggles.

"I wouldn't say there's anything to it," said Kyle Schwarber, who went 0-for-4 on a day when Philadelphia managed just four hits (all singles) against the Pirates. "I think that's just the way baseball is sometimes."

Though he quickly added: "Hopefully our next day game, that doesn't happen."

The Phillies won’t have to worry about playing a day game during their upcoming three-game series against the D-backs. They play three straight night contests before a much-needed off-day on Thursday. That will be followed by a three-game series in San Francisco that features day games on Saturday and Sunday.

“It's a big thing for us where we take away a positive -- and it was a winning homestand,” Schwarber said. “We've got to be able to take that momentum into Arizona, get three there and get a little breather and keep going from there.”

The six-game road trip continues a stretch in which the Phillies play 22 straight games against teams under .500. It began with a 6-1 run against the Reds and Pirates, and it continues with nine games against the Marlins and Nationals following the Giants series.

“We’ve got a good West Coast trip here coming up with an opportunity to win a lot of games during that,” said Noah Syndergaard, who allowed five runs off nine hits (including three triples) over 5 2/3 innings. “Then we’ll return home and compete in front of the best fans in baseball, and that’s about it.”

By that time, the Phillies hope to have reliever Seranthony Domínguez back in the bullpen. They’re also optimistic that they’ll have Zack Wheeler on the mound on Sept. 6 when they open their next homestand against the Marlins.

“A 7-4 homestand, we'll take that for sure -- especially after how it started,” interim manager Rob Thomson said. “We're healthy and getting healthier every day. Just keep moving forward.”