Fastball

Phillies Throttle Rangers Once Again, Join Historic Group Through 50 Games

The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Texas Rangers on Wednesday night at Citizens Bank Park. With that win, the Phillies are now 36-14, which puts them in an incredible class in baseball history.

Brady Farkas

May 22, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies first base Bryce Harper (3) celebrates win with third base Alec Bohm (28) against the Texas Rangers at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
May 22, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies first base Bryce Harper (3) celebrates win with third base Alec Bohm (28) against the Texas Rangers at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports / Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
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The Philadelphia Phillies destroyed the World Champion Texas Rangers on Wednesday night, 11-4, to move to an unreal 36-14 on the season.

The Phillies are on pace to win 116 games, which is the most games ever won in a single-season. Through their first 50 games, they've joined a rare group in baseball history.

Per Sarah Langs of MLB.com:

teams to win at least 36 of first 50 games, last 50 seasons:

2024 Phillies
2001 Mariners (38)
1998 Yankees (37)
1998 Braves
1995 Cleveland
1984 Tigers (39)

The 2001 Mariners won 116 games and the 1998 Yankees won 114, but they won the World Series.

The Phillies are hoping to accomplish the same thing after getting to the World Series and losing in 2022, and losing in the NLCS in 2023. This team certainly has everything you could want in a contender: Elite starting pitching, anchored by Ranger Suarez, Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola, a dominant back-end of the bullpen and a star-studded lineup featuring Bryce Harper and Trea Turner.

However, much has been made of the Phillies soft schedule so far. They have played only six games this season against teams currently over .500 entering play on Thursday.

The Phillies will take on the Rangers again on Thursday afternoon with the first pitch coming at 1:05 p.m. ET

Veteran left-hander Andrew Heaney takes the ball for Texas while Wheeler pitches for the Phillies.

Heaney is 0-5 with a 4.43 ERA on the year while Wheeler is 5-2 with a 2.52.

The Phillies will travel to Colorado following the conclusion of the game.

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Brady Farkas

BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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