Phillies See Encouraging Sign From Struggling Slugger at the Plate

The Philadelphia Phillies finally saw a struggling slugger have a good game on Saturday.

May 2, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting hats and gloves sit on the bench against the Miami Marlins during the fifth inning at loanDepot Park. | Rhona Wise-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Phillies were able to bounce back from two straight losses and had a strong offensive showing against the Colorado Rockies on Saturday night. In the win, a struggling player had his best game of the season. 

Coming off two straight losses, Saturday was an important game for the Phillies to win. A three-game losing streak and dropping a series to the Rockies at home would have been a tough pill to swallow. Fortunately, even though Aaron Nola wasn’t at his best, the offense and the bullpen helped pick up the slack. 

While Colorado sent southpaw Kyle Freeland to the mound, the left-hander hasn’t performed well this season, and Philadelphia's offense was finally able to have an encouraging game against a southpaw. 

Against Freeland, they scored seven runs, six of which were earned, and totaled 10 hits. It was one of the best showings against a left-handed pitcher in a while for the Phillies and hopefully a sign of things to come. 

Furthermore, while it was a good showing by the offense, one of their struggling sluggers was back in the lineup after being benched for the two previous games. Former All-Star Alec Bohm came back and was able to have his best game of the year. 

Bohm’s Game Provides Hope

Philadelphia Phillies infielder Alec Bohm | Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

It has been no secret that the third baseman for the Phillies has struggled immensely this year. However, he is a former All-Star, and while it might have been easy to give up on him, he is an important part of the team. 

With the struggles against left-handed pitching and a need for productive right-handed bats, Bohm can help in both of those areas. However, since making the All-Star team in 2024, there have been a lot of inconsistencies, and he seemingly hit a new low to start this season. 

After a recent vote of confidence by manager Don Mattingly, Bohm got a couple of days off and returned to the lineup against Freeland. With a chance to reset and clear his head, the matchup against the southpaw was a good one, and he made the most of it. In his first two at-bats, Bohm was able to hit his second and third home runs of the year. 

Considering he had just one coming into the game, it was a breakout performance of the slugger on Saturday night. Now, the team will be hoping this will be the start of a good streak for him. If Bohm can find some success at the plate, the offense will look a lot better for the Phillies.