The Philadelphia Phillies’ pitching staff leads MLB in an important category.
The Philadelphia Phillies blanked the Cincinnati Reds again on Thursday afternoon, earning a 5-0 win in the series finale at Great American Ball Park.
Zack Wheeler continued his hot start, leading the way with six innings of one-hit ball. The bullpen took it from there, as Orion Kerkering and Jeff Hoffman combined for three scoreless frames to close out the game.
It was the second shutout in four days for the Phillies’ pitching staff, which also held the Reds scoreless in Monday’s series opener. Philadelphia lost the middle two games, splitting the series, but has now won eight of its last 10 games to improve to 16-10.
Remarkably, the Phillies have four shutouts during that stretch, giving them five in 26 games this season. Their five shutouts are the most in MLB.
Today's 5-0 win over Cincinnati is the @Phillies' 5th shutout of the season, the most in the majors.#MLB | #RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/Rm8FlkSAMO
— Baseball Reference (@baseball_ref) April 25, 2024
Granted, it’s still early in the season (when pitchers are usually ahead of hitters) and the first three of those shutouts came against bad teams — the Washington Nationals, Colorado Rockies and Chicago White Sox. The Reds are 14-11 and nearly made the playoffs last year, however, so they’re no joke, especially since they play in a hitter-friendly environment.
Philadelphia’s dominance isn’t surprising given how well its rotation has performed. Wheeler (1.93 ERA), Aaron Nola (3.16 ERA), Ranger Suarez (1.36 ERA), Cristopher Sanchez (2.96 ERA) and Spencer Turnbull (1.33 ERA) have all been incredible, and the bullpen’s been pretty good as well (with a few exceptions). Opposing batters simply haven’t been able to get much going against the Phillies, who have a combined 3.36 ERA and are averaging over a strikeout per inning.
Even with Turnbull expected to move to the bullpen when Taijuan Walker returns from injury, Philadelphia’s rotation is still arguably the best in baseball. With a solid bullpen behind it, don’t be surprised if the Phillies stay No. 1 in shutouts for the entire season.
