Paul Skenes Got Hammered For Five Runs, And This Phillies Team Is On A 14-4 Tear: Nobody In The National League Is Ready For It

Alright, Emerald City, listen up! While we're all focused on our M's, you gotta see what's brewing back East. The Philadelphia Phillies just completed a dominant sweep over the Pittsburgh Pirates, shutting 'em out 6-0 on Sunday. This ain't just another win, fam. This is a statement, especially since they dropped defending National League Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes for five big runs. Yeah, you read that right. Five!

Mattingly Has These Phils Playing Ball Like Lunatics

So, what's clicked for these Phillies? Well, a big part of it is interim manager Don Mattingly. Since he took over, this squad is playing like men possessed, rocking a 14-4 record and they haven't lost a single series under his watch. That's pure fire. Mattingly himself told us how they attacked Skenes, saying, "I thought we battled. I thought we just fought him. And that's what you have to do against guys like him. He's going to get his outs, he's going to make pitches. But you've got to keep fighting and just keep fouling off, trying to fight just to get something. And I thought we did that, kind of, up and down the order." This turnaround is wild. They were a sad 8-18 back on April 25, but since Zack Wheeler returned from the injured list, they've gone an insane 16-5. Now, they're sitting at 24-23, officially over the .500 mark for the first time since April 7. Shortstop Trea Turner summed it up, "We feel good. This is what we're capable of, we obviously didn't want to start the way we did, but we feel good, we feel like we're playing good baseball." They've won seven of their last eight games, and even though they're eight games back of the Atlanta Braves in the National League East, Turner's focused. "Just focus on who is front of us," he said. "There's a lot of baseball left. We've got to keep playing good team ball, and stack up wins."

Wheeler Shines, Skenes Gets Absolutely Crushed

This game was a tale of two aces. On one side, you had Wheeler absolutely dealing. He tossed seven sparkling innings, giving up just four hits, striking out eight, and walking one. His ERA is a microscopic 1.99 in six starts, especially impressive since he started the season on the IL recovering from surgery to remove a blood clot from his arm. Jonathan Bowlan and Tanner Banks then came in to close out the five-hitter. Wheeler's comeback is the real deal. On the flip side, Paul Skenes, the guy who won the Cy Young last year, tied a career-high by giving up five runs in five-plus innings. The Phillies made him work, smashing six hits, even though he still punched out seven. His impressive 20-scoreless innings streak? Gone in the fifth inning, thanks to a Justin Crawford groundout and a Trea Turner RBI single. Bryce Harper led off the sixth with his 12th home run of the season, pushing the lead to 3-0 against Skenes, and then Bryson Stott piled on with a two-run double later in the inning. Yeah, the Pirates are now struggling, losing four of their last five. So, while the Phillies are surging and making a ton of noise in the National League, our Mariners are always on our minds. We know the Padres beat our guys 7-4 recently. But hey, it's early and we just called up top prospect Emerson for his debut! That's the kind of energy we need at T-Mobile Park. Let's see what he brings to the table and how our boys respond. We'll be watching every pitch.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.