Phillies play one of the best series in team history with sweep of Mariners

PHILADELPHIA -- The Phillies just put together not only their best series of the season ... but arguably one of their best ever.

They finished off a three-game sweep of the Mariners with an 11-2 rout on Wednesday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park. That capped off a series in which the Phillies had their most hits in more than 25 years -- and their most strikeouts by their pitching staff since at least 1900.

After recording a season-high 21 hits in Monday's series opener, the Phillies tallied 20 in the finale. Trea Turner had five hits. Kyle Schwarber added three, including his National League-leading 45th home run. Max Kepler and Bryson Stott also had three apiece. For the second time in three games, every Phillies starter had at least one knock.

Overall, the Phillies had 48 hits in their three games against the Mariners. That's tied for the sixth most in any three-game series in franchise history -- and their most since racking up 50 against the Cubs in 1999.

"Doing that in three games against those arms -- they have really good arms -- just shows you that we can do it, and we need to have the confidence that we can do it," Stott said.

"That was a good series."

And it wasn't just the offense.

In their first full series since placing Zack Wheeler on the injured list due to a blood clot, the Phillies' starting staff responded with one of its most dominant series in franchise history.

Ranger Suárez had 10 strikeouts on Monday. Cristopher Sánchez struck out 12 on Tuesday. Jesús Luzardo added 12 more on Wednesday.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it's the first time the Phillies have had three straight starts of double-digit strikeouts since at least 1893 -- the first year of the current mound distance. No team had done it since the Padres in 2022.

Overall, the trio's 34 strikeouts were the most by Phillies starters in any three-game series in the Modern Era (since 1900). Toss in another 12 strikeouts by the bullpen, and the 46 K’s overall were also the Phillies’ most in any three-game set.

"For us, as a rotation, the best thing we can do is just keep going and continue to prove that we're a top-of-the-line rotation," Luzardo said. "Everyone just goes out there and tries to take care of their job."

Those performances came not only on the heels of the shocking news about Wheeler over the weekend, but also after jumping right into this series following a three-city, 10-game road trip.

"The most impressive part of it is it's the backend of a 13-day stretch without a day off," manager Rob Thomson said. "And our guys came out with a lot of energy today, and the whole series was good, really -- in every phase."

Though obviously pleased, Thomson wasn't surprised.

"I know who they are. They grind and they're resilient and they fight," Thomson said. "The Wheels news is awful and I feel for Wheels and his family. But they're not going to cancel games for us, so we've got to keep playing."

Going back to Sunday's series finale against the Nationals, the Phillies are 4-0 since placing Wheeler on the IL on Saturday night. They're averaging 10 runs and 15.3 hits in those four games -- and getting contributions throughout the lineup.

Turner has a 10-game hitting streak in which he's batting .522 (24-for-46) with a 1.237 OPS. He's had multiple hits in six of his past seven games. Schwarber's five RBIs on Wednesday gave him a career-high 109 on the season. He’s also on pace for 57 homers -- one shy of Ryan Howard’s club record of 58, set in 2006.

There’s also Stott, who’s hitting .353 with a 1.011 OPS in his last 20 starts. Bryce Harper has a 1.010 OPS over his past 35 games -- and made some Phillies history with a pair of 440-foot homers on Monday. Brandon Marsh is hitting .339 with a 1.012 OPS in his last 15 starts. J.T. Realmuto is hitting .324 since the start of June.

As a team, the Phillies’ 54 home runs since the All-Star break are the most in the Majors.

"It feels like we're kind of playing our best baseball right now," Turner said. " ... Just everybody is contributing and it feels like a full team effort."