Phillies 2026 News and Discussion

[Carver]

Just wanted to point out that it was working fine until Joebas showed up to complain about the mlb app...

[zambonir]

Sounds like JT got to pick his off-day this week. And it wasn't gonna be the Iowa game.

[bkox]

A note I just saw about Schwarber's Sunday game:

Kyle Schwarber became just the 8th player in MLB history to record 2+ HR, 3+ BB, and 1+ SB in a single game.

[majik]

I think the let’s get Duran work games where he enters in a non-save situation may be more of I don’t trust the guys I have left in the pen appearances

[Austinfan]

What impressed me about Painter is having a no hitter going into the 6th with mediocre stuff.
4 seamer was 96, trouble locating his offspeed stuff. Really struggled at times.
But you can see the potential, some killer changes (perfect pitch for his 6th K), the sweeper has great horizontal movement, some of the sliders had real bite, and threw more 2 seamers. When he's down in the zone he's close to unhittable.
Think it's probably a matter of tweaking mechanics (release point) and developing more consistency throwing breaking balls and changeups.
Should add 1-2 MPH on his fastball next couple years as he perfects his mechanics (pretty common) but the key will be finding the grips on the 4 seamer for more "rise" and the two seamer for more down and away movement.

[Philsmania]

Painter has been making progress. Probably premature to say he's turned the corner--he'll need an extended stretch of quality to make that determination--but signs are promising again.

[phillychuck]

Painter really brought his arm angle up at LV...gets way better spin and movement on his fastballs from that slot. He looked like his old self last night.

[andyb]

And Painter's change is developing into a real weapon. The splitter was not getting hit that hard but he had much less control of it.

[majik]

If the season ended today, the Phillies would face the Dodgers in the Wild Card round. That is probably beneficial to us as we could go Luzardo, Wheeler, Sanchez which would probably give us the best shot of upsetting the Dodgers versus a 5 or 7 games series. Put Luzardo first due to his great road numbers versus Sanchez. Weird how Luzardo is great away not so great at home and Sanchez is the opposite. It is also probably the Dodgers worst scenario facing our top 3 in a three game set.

Would be a nightmare for Manfred, we knockout the Dodgers and you get a Milwaukee-Tampa Bay World Series to destroy the we need a cap for small markets to compete mantra they are shoveling

[Patchmk88]

Supposedly his splitter grip was also screwing up his fastball grip and the changeup has fixed that. He definitely still needs to get better command but it seems they did improve some stuff down in AAA.

[Philsmania]

If the season ended today, the Phillies would face the Dodgers in the Wild Card round. That is probably beneficial to us as we could go Luzardo, Wheeler, Sanchez which would probably give us the best shot of upsetting the Dodgers versus a 5 or 7 games series. Put Luzardo first due to his great road numbers versus Sanchez. Weird how Luzardo is great away not so great at home and Sanchez is the opposite. It is also probably the Dodgers worst scenario facing our top 3 in a three game set.

Would be a nightmare for Manfred, we knockout the Dodgers and you get a Milwaukee-Tampa Bay World Series to destroy the we need a cap for small markets to compete mantra they are shoveling

True, ha ha! In all seriousness, I would rather face the Braves whose number we've had in October in the WC round, though they did pound us back in April when we were in our 3-15 swoon.

Funny how all of our games against the Braves this season are in the first and last months of the season.

[andyb]

I can't imagine the Phillies put much stock in home/road starter numbers. Over time they equalize. There might be a 1/2 debate between Sanchez and Wheeler but Luzardo is a clear number 3 for now.

Of course with a WC series we might not be able to plan and structure too much, but they just are not going to elevate Luzardo. They might choose Sanchez if a LH pitcher is an advantage since he and Wheeler are pretty close in the pecking order.

[Deadgmwalking]

With Sanchez they should. Obviously the scoreless streak muddies the waters, but in '25/'26 he has been demonstrably better at home.

| Season | Split | W-L | ERA | WHIP | IP | K | H | HR | BB |
| ------ | ----- | --- | ---- | ---- | ----: | --: | --: | -: | -: |
| 2025 | Home | 6-0 | 1.94 | 0.90 | 97.2 | 115 | 71 | 6 | 17 |
| 2025 | Away | 7-5 | 3.02 | 1.22 | 104.1 | 97 | 100 | 6 | 27 |
| 2026 | Home | 7-1 | 0.86 | 0.93 | 73.0 | 85 | 50 | 2 | 18 |
| 2026 | Away | 4-3 | 4.97 | 1.53 | 54.1 | 59 | 76 | 10 | 7 |

[andyb]

But it is still mostly blind luck.

[EastFallowfield]

Maybe they would use the road/home thing to start Luzardo sooner if he looks a little better than Sanchez does down the stretch

[zambonir]

I don't think us having the Braves' number four years ago and three years ago means much now anyway. They didn't have Chris Sale then. We won two Games 1s started by Ranger where he only went four innings. We definitely had Strider's number and he might not even be pitching (though I think I'd take his absence too).

Any wild card series is tough to win even with the crapshoot factor. Phillies and Padres did it in '22 and both went on to NLCS. Ditto Arizona in '23 and Mets in '24 (as we know too well). But I certainly can't imagine the team we are watching currently winning two games in LA. Or anywhere else.

Rotation will really depend on whether the Phillies have clinched in the last week too.

[Philsmania]

I've wondered if that scoreless streak may have taken something out of Sanchez. He pitched very deep into most of those games during that stretch.

[andyb]

Through 120 games...

2026 Phillies: 64-56
2008 Phillies: 64-56
1980 Phillies: 64-56

[image or embed]

— John Foley (@2008philz.bsky.social) August 10, 2026 at 10:52 PM

[zambonir]

Phillies, 80.5% odds of making playoffs, .502 SOS
Arizona,54.2% odds, 496 SOS
San Diego, 36.6% odds, .499 SOS
Miami,10.9% odds, .509 SOS

Cubs and Braves are all but in. Dodgers and Brewers odds are 100%.

Which MLB contenders have the toughest road to the playoffs? Breaking down the...

[majik]

I don’t get these percentages given that the Phils have some really tough series in September. Even though they are at home, the last week is Milwaukee and Tampa Bay and the beginning of the month has a Braves-Astros homestand followed by a trip to Atlanta