Phillies Much-Maligned Slugger Again Heating up at Plate in May

May has been a great month for a Philadelphia Phillies heating up at the plate.

Philadelphia Phillies infielder Alec Bohm (28) hits a home run against the Cincinnati Reds in the sixth inning at Citizens Bank Park. | Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

There haven’t been many hitters as hot as Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm has been in the last two weeks.

Through March and April, Bohm was hitting .151 and had an on-base percentage of .218. Early-season Bohm struggles aren’t anything new for Phillies fans, but this time, fans were more critical.

Through May 21, Bohm is currently riding an 11-game hitting streak. He has a hitting .339 in May with 21 hits, which includes four home runs.

But when Rob Thomson was let go, something in Bohm’s approach changed much to the credit of interim manager Don Mattingly, hitting coach Kevin Long and Bohm himself.

What changed for Alec Bohm?

May 18, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies infielder Alec Bohm (28) hits a home run against the Cincinnati Reds in the sixth inning at Citizens Bank Park. | Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

During the Phillies series with the Athletics, Mattingly decided to sit Bohm for a few games to serve as a “reset.” Mattingly sat down with reporters on May 7 and explained why he is sitting Bohm.

“But, yeah, encourage him to take a reset day from the standpoint of like, grinding, grinding, grinding. Take a step back and then get back after it,” Mattingly said, via Todd Zolecki of MLB.com.

The plan seemed to work perfectly for Bohm. In the team’s next series against the Colorado Rockies, Bohm busted out of his slump and had four hits in his seven at-bats during the series.

In the next series against the Boston Red Sox, Bohm continued to connect on the baseball as he had four hits in his 11 at-bats.

From there, Bohm continued his success into the Phillies series against the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Cincinnati Reds. In those two series, Bohm collected nine hits with a batting average of .378.

The magic of May

May 17, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm (28) and first baseman Bryce Harper (right) celebrate after defeating the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park. | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

After a missile off the bat of Bohm against the Reds on May 20, a home run that had an exit velocity of 107 mph, the hitting streak was extended to 11 games, the longest streak in MLB.

We have seen spurts like this from Bohm in the past. Last season in the month of May, Bohm was excellent as well, after a slow-ish start to things.

What is it in Bohm’s play or in the air in May that makes Bohm swing a scorching bat? Bohm, on May 19, told reporters himself that, “One bad month doesn’t make the whole season.”

A lot of outside factors could play into Bohm’s offensive surge. The hotter weather, the managerial change, but we know from years past and now this year, that May is Bohm’s month.