Late-game magic Friday propelled the Philadelphia Phillies to a franchise-tying 13-game road win streak.

The Phillies did not utilize that momentum Saturday.

The Phillies lost 5-3 to the Miami Marlins in the second of a three-game road series, snapping their streak just one short of a franchise record. Philly had last won 13 straight road games in 1976.

That wasn’t the only problem.

Bryce Harper exited the game after being hit by a ball on his surgically repaired right elbow. Harper remained in the game to run the bases and was caught stealing. However, he looked to be in pain after being hit. But luckily Phillies manager Rob Thomson said after the game that X-rays on Harper’s elbow were negative.

Despite the loss, the Phillies still put together a strong run on the road, which isn’t easy to do. But could that (and even home success continue after the All-Star break?

Let’s take a look. 

Coming up short… on offense 

The Phillies led 1-0 after Tre Turner homered in the top of the first inning. Miami took a 3-1 lead but the Phillies tied the game 3-3 after Christian Pache doubled in Alec Bohm and Edmundo Sosa and Kyle Schwarber’s RBI. 

But that would be it as Miami would score a run in each the fourth and seventh innings.

Miami outhit Philadelphia 10-7. The Phillies’ bullpen had not given up a run in 25⅓ innings prior to Saturday. It was 4-3, but Miami scored its fifth run off Yunior Marte. The Marlins’ first four runs were off Ranger Suarez. He struck out four with eight hits and three earned runs.

Starting pitching (for the most part) has been pretty solid lately. And that has been important during this hot streak because the offense has been off and on. Some games the bats are quiet, others not so much. The entire pitching staff appears to be in a groove. Blaming the arms Saturday is not going to happen here. 

I mean, yeah, five runs allowed aren’t great. But the offense has to be better. The offense is still finding ways to win, which is great. But you aren’t going to have a Pache homer in the ninth inning every game. The Phillies need to score early and often, and that’s not happening right now. When the bats start clicking, and if the pitching remains hot, then watch out.

Until then, the Phillies better hope this pitching continues. And that may or may not happen. Yes, they have shown consistency recently. But remember, it has only be a month and change.

Good June but will it continue? 

Repeat success is never guaranteed, which the Phillies showed early on in the season. After their unexpected World Series appearance, most fans had expectations for this team (myself included). 

But the Phillies started rough, finishing 15-13 in April and 10-16 in May. Entering June with a 25-30 record, the Phillies needed to put together some wins before falling too far behind in the wild card race. 

The Phillies did just that. 

The Phillies dominated June, finishing 18-8. It carried into this month (so far) and they have now won 23 of their last 31 games. Even more fantastic is how they are winning games (pointing back to the pitching). 

Let’s be honest, the pitching is doing well. Did you think that early on? I didn’t! I keep thinking it won’t last, but it has for the most part. Sure, there are hiccups here and there, but the pitching has been great during this run,

The only downside now is possibly not having standout pitching prospect Andrew Painter, who could have been the fifth starter but reportedly suffered a setback in his early-season elbow injury. 

The Phillies desperately need a fifth starter. I don’t like these bullpen games. But that role could possibly go to Christopher Sanchez, a topic discussed in our podcast Friday. 

We will find that out soon enough. However, like most, I wanted to see if Painter lived up to hype. But for now, the rotation should just be Sanchez, Aaron Nola, Zach Wheeler, Taijuan Walker and Suarez and forget about those bullpen games. 

Still (and I can’t believe I’m saying this with the lineup the Phillies have) but the Phillies bats desperately need to wake up. Hopefully Harper is OK, but only having three homers is unlike him. I’m not all about homers (that’s why Schwarber bothers me as he’s sometimes home run or nothing when all I want is a base but).

But homers are equally as important, especially for a hitter like Harper. Nick Castellanos leads the team in batting average (.304) and hits (104) Bohm has the most RBIs (57) and is batting .283. Bryson Stott is batting .298. Harper (.290) is still doing well at the plate, but I want to see more. On paper, this team should not be struggling at all at the plate

If the bats get consistent and hot (like they did later in the season and postseason in 2022) then the Phillies could absolutely carry their June success into July, August and hopefully beyond. 

The Phillies close out their series against the Marlins at 1:40 p.m. Sunday before heading to the All-Star break. Nola (8-5, 4.30 ERA) is the projected starter.