DENVER -- The top of the Phillies' lineup is starting to look more and more like the club envisioned when it chose to essentially run it back in 2025.
On a night when Kyle Schwarber was finally kept in the yard, Trea Turner, Bryce Harper and J.T. Realmuto all went deep in the Phillies' 9-5 win over the Rockies on Wednesday night at Coors Field. Each of the top five hitters in the order reached base multiple times while scoring all nine of Philadelphia's runs.
The Phillies have combined for 25 runs and 46 hits through the first three games of the series against the Rockies -- but they’ve been heating up long before arriving at hitter-friendly Coors Field. The Phils have won six straight games and are 18-5 over their past 23 games, a stretch in which they’re averaging 5.7 runs per game and outscoring their opponents by 45 runs.
“When you're winning games consistently, it's usually a different guy every night,” manager Rob Thomson said. “You've got one or two guys on a heater, but then it's other guys -- different guys -- contributing every night, and that's what we're getting right now.”
It’s fair to say that Schwarber -- tied for the MLB lead with 17 homers -- and Turner -- on pace for his first 200-hit season -- have been the guys on the heaters. Harper, too, has been on a tear of late, hitting .500 (15-for-30) over the past nine games.
On this night, the “other guy” was Realmuto.
After Turner and Harper went back to back in the fourth, Realmuto connected for an RBI double -- with a second run scoring on an error -- to cap a four-run frame. He then connected for a no-doubt two-run homer in the sixth to provide some extra breathing room.
It was Realmuto’s first three-hit game since April 3, and his first three-hit, three-RBI game since Aug. 24 last season.
“J.T. had a big night,” Thomson said. “We got a lot of production at the top of the lineup. It was good."
Sure, it must be noted that the past few games have come against a Rockies team off to the worst start (8-41) in AL/NL history -- not to mention playing at Coors Field. But the opponent and ballpark don't deserve all the credit.
After all, this is largely the same group of Phillies hitters who scored two runs or fewer in three of their six games at Coors Field over the previous two seasons.
"Well, [based on] the past, I would say no,” Thomson said when asked if a “Coors effect” has played a role in the offensive surge. “Because we haven't played very well here in the past. So I can't speak to that too much.”
Plus, many of the Phillies’ bats have been heating up for weeks now.
Harper has raised his average 44 points since May 14, going from .232 to a far more respectable .276. Similarly, Nick Castellanos has raised his average to .286 -- an increase of 16 points in his past 16 games.
Alec Bohm is hitting .263, up more than 100 points since April 15. Brandon Marsh is hitting .368 (14-for-38) since returning from the injured list.
"It just feels like everyone is kind of hot right now,” said Turner.
Even Turner, who has been hitting in the .300s for much of the year, has tapped into some power of late. He has four extra-base hits over the past three games, including his 424-foot homer on Wednesday night.
Turner mentioned following the game that the power element of his game had been hampered a bit since being hit by pitches in a similar spot on his left arm on April 17 and April 20. He acknowledged making some “small changes” at the start of this series to try to remedy that.
“I've been taking my hits and whatnot, but the last few days, I've been better about getting the ball in the air and hitting the gaps,” Turner said. "It's nice when I try to do something a little different and then it clicks in. It feels good."
Turner isn’t the only one it’s clicking for on a Phillies (31-18) team that holds the best record in the National League and will look to complete its second straight sweep on Thursday afternoon.
“Everyone is swinging it good right now,” Turner said. “Even the outs feel like good swings. Just a lot of positives on the offensive side.”