PHILADELPHIA -- The Phillies needed a game like this one.
They needed Bryson Stott's early homer. They needed a ticked-off Alec Bohm to come through with a big two-out bases-clearing double in the third -- and Stott's two-out bases-clearing double of his own three innings later.
Mostly, they just needed to win.
The Phillies snapped their four-game losing streak -- and avoided a sweep at the hands of the Yankees -- with Sunday night's 11-4 rout at Citizens Bank Park.
It was a rare win over another team currently in line to play postseason baseball.
Though the Phillies have righted the ship from their 9-19 start that led to the dismissal of manager Rob Thomson, they have racked up the majority of their wins against teams that likely won't be playing beyond September. Even with Sunday's victory, the Phils are just 13-27 against the other 11 teams currently in the postseason picture.
The only teams with a worse record against the current playoff field are the Rockies (14-30), Mets (14-30) and Royals (13-35) -- a trio of last-place clubs.
But the Phillies (57-49) are not that. They're a team with World Series aspirations that currently holds the second National League Wild Card spot -- and still hopes to chase down the Braves in the NL East.
Though the Phillies believe they can compete with anybody, they haven't exactly proven it to this point. They lost both of their series against the Dodgers. They're 1-5 vs. the Braves, 1-6 vs. the Cubs and 1-2 vs. the Brewers.
Of course, it was already too late for the Phillies to win this series after scoring just one run over their first two games against the Yankees. They've lost three consecutive series coming out of the All-Star break, while scoring one run or fewer in five of those nine games.
But Sunday night was a different story.
Turner got things started in the first with a leadoff triple before scoring on Kyle Schwarber’s sacrifice fly. Stott hit a solo homer in the second.
Then, with two on and two outs in the third, the Yankees intentionally walked a slumping Brandon Marsh to load the bases for Bohm.
“It’s happened a lot to me during my career,” Bohm said, “but that time kind of pissed me off.”
Most of those previous instances came with Bohm hitting behind Bryce Harper.
“It's not like I'm mad at them for doing it or mad at anybody, in particular -- I’m just tired of people thinking that I'm the easy out,” Bohm said. “I know what the numbers say, but I don't feel like I'm an out going up there, and obviously, in those situations, you want to make them feel like they made a mistake.”
He did just that.
Bohm grinded out a nine-pitch at-bat that ended with a bases-clearing double to blow the game open.
But does beating a team during the regular season really mean anything come October?
"Yeah, I think if you run into a good team and you beat them in the series," said shortstop Trea Turner, "I think that gives you confidence."
Three innings later, Bohm had another chance with two outs and the bases loaded, but he was hit by a pitch to force in a run. Stott followed with a bases-clearing double to finish off a five-run inning.
That duo combined to drive in nine of the Phillies' 11 runs. With that type of production largely missing from the middle of the order this season, those big innings have been few and far between.
In fact, the Phillies had just one inning since May 7 – a span of 69 games – in which they had scored at least four runs without the benefit of a home run. They had two such innings on Sunday night.
“We know the big hit has been missing, and to be able to get a few tonight was good to see,” said Stott, whose five RBIs matched a career high. “We know what we're capable of.”
And now, the schedule is about to ease up again.
The Phillies flew to Miami following Sunday night’s game for a series against a Marlins team that has lost 12 straight games. That begins a stretch of 31 straight games against teams currently on the outside looking in.
The Phils don't play another team currently in postseason position until Aug. 31 when they face the D-backs.
“At this point in the year, you really can't take anybody lightly,” interim manager Don Mattingly said. “Games are all important. They're important all year long, but we talk about the pennant race and things like that -- it’s started. One bad week puts you in danger.”