PHILADELPHIA -- Zack Wheeler had another off night by his standards.
The three stars atop the Phillies’ order -- Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner and Bryce Harper -- went hitless until Schwarber singled in the eighth. Shutdown closer Jhoan Duran was unavailable after throwing 43 pitches over the past two days. The defense committed a pair of errors.
On just about any other night over the past couple of seasons, that's a surefire recipe for a Phillies loss.
But not on Tuesday night.
Led once again by the scorching duo of Bryson Stott and Alec Bohm, Philadelphia rallied for a somewhat improbable 6-4 victory over the Marlins at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies (69-58) have won a season-high-tying five straight games, as they remain one game ahead of the Padres (68-59) for the second National League Wild Card spot. They’re now three games clear of the D-backs (66-61).
This win, however, was unlike most.
While he allowed just two runs off two hits, Wheeler also issued four walks and lasted only five innings. He departed with the Phillies trailing by one, and that deficit quickly turned to two when Miami scored on an error in the top of the sixth.
In the bottom half, though, Bohm ripped an RBI single to pull the Phillies back within one. Stott followed with a go-ahead two-run single up the middle en route to a game-changing four-run frame.
It momentarily appeared as if it'd be an even bigger inning after Schwarber smashed a ball down the right-field line that was initially called a three-run homer. It was overturned to a foul ball following a replay review.
Thanks to Stott and Bohm, it didn't matter.
Stott extended his on-base streak to a career-high 19 games, during which he's hitting .344 (21-for-61). Bohm, meanwhile, is hitting .330 (37-for-112) since the All-Star break, including going 14-for-28 (.500) during his seven-game hitting streak.
“It's a crazy game,” said Bohm, who was hitting .215 with a .632 OPS at the break. “Obviously, I would have liked to feel great all year long and do this in April, but it's a crazy game. Some random little thing can kind of click and kind of take it and run with it.”
The Phillies have seen Bohm do it before.
Last season, Bohm slashed .315/.355/.468 from August onward. In 2024, he slashed .323/.379/.519 over a 50-game stretch to start the season.
“Playing with him for six, seven years now, seeing how he goes about his work and things like that -- it doesn't surprise me how he's doing right now,” Stott said. “And I think when he gets on these heaters, they last a while.”
It's not just the offense. Bohm also made an incredible toe-tapping double play to end the seventh inning when he snagged a line drive as he simultaneously dragged a foot across the base.
"We told him he couldn't play in the NFL, only college, because he only got one foot there,” Stott said with a smile. “But that was a sick play.”
Stott continued to play some stellar defense of his own, making a sliding stop to start the ninth inning and another one moments later to end it. That defense helped Brooks Raley secure his first save since July 30, 2023.
“Yeah, those were good,” Stott said. “Different than second, for sure.”
Stott hasn’t missed a beat since switching from second base to third base. Members of the coaching staff were joking during batting practice on Monday that the only thing keeping him from winning the Gold Glove at third base this season is the fact he didn’t play there until Aug. 4.
“He's looked like he's done it his whole career over there,” Bohm said. “So that's been cool to watch.”
The simultaneous surges of Stott and Bohm have been pivotal in helping Philadelphia right the ship.
The Phillies dropped six of their first eight series coming out of the All-Star break. They went just 4-5 in their first nine games with Luis Arraez in the lineup.
They’ve now won five straight and clinched their second straight series victory with Tuesday’s win. Despite finding themselves outside of the postseason picture last Thursday for the first time since June 4, they’ve now created a three-game buffer between themselves and Arizona.
“We kind of stumbled out of the break a little bit, but I think, of late, we've kind of corrected that,” Bohm said “It’s just showing up every day to win a game. That's always the mindset in this clubhouse, so just continue to roll with that.”