Phillies Make Ugly Franchise History Through 59 Games

Brutal franchise history has been made by the Philadelphia Phillies through their first 59 games.

May 31, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner (7) throws his wrist guard after lining out during the seventh inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. | William Liang-Imagn Images

May was a historic month for Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Cristopher Sanchez, who pitched 39 innings and didn’t allow a single run.

He has gone 44.2 consecutive innings without allowing a run, breaking the franchise record of 41 innings, set by Grover Alexander in 1911. Sanchez is now setting his sights on the most consecutive scoreless innings by a left-handed pitcher and the overall record of 59 innings set by Orel Hershiser in 1988 with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Alas, their ace wasn’t the only one making history in May. As a whole, the Phillies' lineup has been producing at a historic level, but on the opposite end of the spectrum.

While Sanchez made franchise history for his level of dominance, Philadelphia’s hitters have made franchise history for underwhelming performance.

Phillies lineup producing at historically poor level

May 31, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Bryson Stott (5) swings during the sixth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. | William Liang-Imagn Images

As shared by John Stolnis on X, the Phillies have a combined batting average of .224 through the first 59 games of the season. That is the lowest batting average this many games into a season in franchise history.

The previous low was in 1941 when they hit .226. In 1970, they had a batting average of .228. In 1960 and 1971, both teams had a .230 batting average through the first 59 games of those respective campaigns.

One thing all of those teams had in common: they didn’t sniff the postseason. The most victories any of those underwhelming offensive teams had was 73 in 1970. In 1971, they won only 67 games, while 47 victories were had in 1961 and the team won only 43 games in 1941.

This year’s Philadelphia squad has the luxury of being supported by a dominant pitching staff. Sanchez and Zack Wheeler are arguably the best one-two punch in baseball, anchoring the starting rotation.

Jesus Luzardo has performed like an ace at points this year, while Andrew Painter has been serviceable with J.T. Realmuto behind the plate. Aaron Nola has struggled, but signs of being productive have flashed.

The Phillies, as a team, are hitting .224 through their first 59 games.

It is the LOWEST batting average through their first 59 games of a season in FRANCHISE HISTORY (final record in parenthesis).

2026: .224 (TBD)
1941: .226 (43-111)
1970: .228 (73-88)
1961: .230 (47-107)…

— John Stolnis (@JohnStolnis) May 31, 2026

As long as they keep producing, the team will hang around the playoff picture in the National League. But the offense has to pick things up to take some pressure off the pitching staff as the calendar flips to June.

The only batters performing at an above-average level are first baseman Bryce Harper, outfielder Brandon Marsh and designated hitter Kyle Schwarber. They are the only three positional players with an OPS+ in triple digits, with 100 being average.

Their OPS+ numbers are 137, 125 and 154, respectively. The next highest is center fielder Justin Crawford and second baseman Bryson Stott, who are tied with 76.

That level of production with the bats is just not going to cut it if the Phillies want to have any chance of making some noise in the postseason.

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