Phillies Have Been Excelling in This Key Area

What area have the Philadelphia Phillies been excelling in?

Jun 3, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Jhoan Duran (59) reacts after pitching a strike out in the ninth inning against the San Diego Padres to end the game with a win at Citizens Bank Park. | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Phillies will be entering Sunday seeking another series win over the Chicago White Sox and to get to five games over the .500 mark. With the team performing better of late, one area has been key. 

While the Phillies were one of the biggest disappointments to start the season in baseball, they have finally started to get back on track. Philadelphia had a really strong month of May and that has carried into June early on. 

The team being one of the best in baseball last month helped them completely change the narrative about their season and now they are hoping to be a contender once again. Philadelphia electing to fire Rob Thomson has proven to be the right move and Don Mattingly has done a good job helping the team build some momentum. 

While the Phillies might not be a perfect team, they have really been able to thrive in one area. That area is winning close games. 

Phillies Good in Tight Games

Philadelphia Phillies bench coach Don Mattingly | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

As Philadelphia starts to look like the team that many expected them to be, a main reason for the success has been their ability to perform in close games. This is a team that has a veteran core with many players being in every situation possible. 

This experience is always helpful and it has proven to be for the Phillies this year. In one-run games, the team is a very impressive (14-5). Even though the lineup might not be the best right now, they sometimes have got a big hit when they needed too. However, this record being so in tough situations is really showing that the bullpen for Philadelphia is strong. 

Led by Jhoan Duran, the team is a perfect (29-0) when leading after eight innings this year. That is an amazing feat to accomplish and with Duran being a perfect 15-for-15 in  save situations, he has played a big part. 

Now, while the team has been great in one-run games, it will be important for them to make some upgrades to their lineup. This is a group that really only has three hitters right now and that has to change. Barring some players turning it around, adding at least two hitters would be good for Philadelphia. 

Fortunately, they have been able to get the job done in close games, but that isn’t something that they want to rely upon for an entire season.