97.5 The Fanatic Phillies Notebook: Alec Bohm’s Historic Hit Streak

The National League East race is on. The Atlanta Braves have kept up their torrid regular-season norms, and the Philadelphia Phillies are on their heels as a top-tier MLB team.

Alec Bohm carried the Fightin’ Phils to two more series victories this week during his 15-game hit streak. 

The series victory in Anaheim brought the Phillies to 21-11 on the season. They have substantiated their spring training emphasis on avoiding an early-season lull similar to the 2022 and 2023 seasons.

The Phillies lost their first two series in 2024. They have gone 6-0-2 in their next eight series with three sweeps. They crushed the hapless Colorado Rockies and Chicago White Sox at Citizens Bank Park, but the San Diego Padres posed a more legitimate threat.

The dominant weekend sweep at Petco Park came against a more threatening lineup card with Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts, and Fernando Tatis Jr. at the heart of the order.

The starting rotation has given the Phillies a chance to win virtually every game for weeks. It’s no surprise that a club is 10 games over .500 when the starting staff has a collective 2.50 ERA.

Fans will undoubtedly appreciate the dominance when they hear that it was the best March/April record for a Phillies team since the 102-60 season in 2011.

A lineup with Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, and Kyle Schwarber will produce runs. There’s no surprise there. However, not many people would’ve guessed Bohm as Philadelphia’s best hitter over one month into the season.

The 27-year-old third baseman has erased past concerns about his development as a hitter. He ranks second in the majors in batting average behind Mookie Betts, second in RBI behind Marcell Ozuna, and second in doubles behind Shohei Ohtani.

When the Phillies put runners on base for their new cleanup hitter, he’s driven them home with his ability to hit to all fields and an incredibly improved power bat.

Jayson Stark spoke on The Best Show Ever about how a current 15-game hit streak has put Alec Bohm in legendary company.

Bohm became the first Phillie with an extra-base hit in eight consecutive games since Chase Utley in 2008. His 23 hits over a 10-game span were the most the club has seen since a Jimmy Rollins hot streak in 2005.

The national accolades are finally pouring in for the former third-overall pick. Expect to see him in Arlington in July for the MLB All-Star Game.

The Phillies came away with a series victory against the Angels by winning the final two of their 10-game road trip. The wins were anything but comfortable.

Most fans in Philadelphia fell asleep on Tuesday night sometime after an exhilarating 76ers playoff win and before a wild ninth inning rally in an April Phillies game.

The Angels led 5-3 after seven innings. The Phillies chipped the lead to one with an RBI single from (surprise) Alec Bohm in the 14th of his 15-game hit streak.

Nick Castellanos tied the game with one out in the ninth on an opposite-field home run. It was the first of three extra-base hits that put the Phillies on top. Bryson Stott followed with a double, and Johan Rojas provided the deadly blow with a two-run, game-winning homer.

Zack Wheeler struggled to manage his pitch count efficiently in Wednesday’s close-out afternoon game. The Cy Young hopeful’s version of a bad day ended after five innings of one-run ball. The bullpen allowed five hits in four innings without their usual overpowering stuff.

Jose Alvarado scattered three singles in the eighth but passed it along to Gregory Soto for a save opportunity. The Halos had two men on with two outs when Taylor Ward sent a fly ball to left field that fell about three feet short of a walk-off home run and a stolen series victory.

Kyle Schwarber caught it with no room to spare in his only game in the outfield this season. Soto felt some relief.

MLB teams don’t win World Series without any hiccups. The Phillies are on an incredible streak. They’re also learning to navigate series without their A game.

The Phillies will begin a six-game homestand with four games against the San Francisco Giants at Citizens Bank Park.

All stats as of the beginning of play on May 2.

The Philadelphia Phillies will play nine full series on their schedule during the month of May. Five of them will come at Citizens Bank Park. The other four will come on the road.

The early months of the past two seasons haven’t been kind to Philadelphia. However, Rob Thomson’s squad has reversed the narrative.

The Phillies enter the month of May after one of the best Aprils performances in franchise history because of their ability to take advantage of a weaker schedule. They swept lesser opponents in the Colorado Rockies and Chicago White Sox before traveling west to do the same to a more formidable San Diego Padres team.

The May 2024 schedule includes three National League East rivals. The Phillies and the New York Mets will play consecutive series with two games apiece at each respective team’s home park. It will provide a nice tune-up before the MLB London Series in June.

The Washington Nationals will host their former star Bryce Harper, and the Miami Marlins will look to stay afloat against a World Series contender in what’s been a disastrous start to 2024.

The Toronto Blue Jays might not have Joe Carter anymore, but they still provide a good draw in Philadelphia. The defending champion Texas Rangers will also visit the City of Brotherly Love.

Road series include trips to the Bay Area to face the San Francisco Giants and a Memorial Day Weekend set at Coors Field in Denver. 

The Phillies will also face the St. Louis Cardinals at Citizens Bank Park for one game on May 31 in the first game of a weekend series that stretches into the month of June.

The Phillies return to Citizens Bank Park after a 10-game road trip for an extended weekend set. The uncommon Friday-Monday schedule includes the featured game on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball.

Fans also receive the ironic Alec Bohm “I Love This Place” t-shirt on Saturday.

Gabe Kapler had been the storyline in recent Phillies-Giants series, but veteran skipper Bob Melvin replaced him this offseason.

The Giants added reigning NL Cy Young Blake Snell during spring training, but the Phillies will miss the nasty lefty during an IL stint.

The Blue Jays have a good developing group of core players led by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. They’ve cracked the playoffs in three of the past four seasons.

The strangely controversial Hatfield Phillies Franks BOGO Night (NOT Dollar Dog Night) will draw a crowd for the two-game set in Philadelphia.

What percentage of the home crowd is passionate enough to hold a grudge against the visiting Jays for a fateful series loss 31 years ago?

The Phillies will get back on the road for a weekend set in Florida on May 10. The Marlins have had a disastrous start to the 2024 season that’s buried them in last place in the NL East.

Speculation surrounding Jesus Luzardo and other potential trade chips will draw more attention than the ballclub this season. A World Series hopeful team like the Phillies should push themselves to dominate a last-place team like the Marlins.

The Mets have impressively stayed in reach in an NL East race with two elite teams like the Phillies and Braves at the top. First-year manager Carlos Mendoza has squeezed some wins out of a flawed roster.

The Phillies play the front half of a four-game series at Citi Field before returning to Philadelphia. It’s the only matchup between the two division rivals before the MLB London Series on June 8 and 9.

The Phillies will make the quick drive south for the second half of the four-game set. Another New York franchise recently dominated a Philadelphia venue.

Mets fans have shown up at Citizens Bank Park in recent seasons with big numbers and passionate noise in regular-season matchups. Will they follow the precedent set by the Knicks fan base at the Wells Fargo Center?

The Nationals made it through the first month of the season with a respectable record. Many MLB analysts picked them to finish at the bottom of the NL East, but they’ve at least kept pace in what looks like a powerhouse division in 2024.

Strong starts from CJ Abrams and Jesse Winker deserve some recognition. However, the Phillies have an unquestionably stronger roster than Washington.

The defending World Series champs will travel to Citizens Bank Park for their only matchup against the Phillies in a three-game weekday set. Corey Seager didn’t get off to his strongest start in 2024. Fellow centerpiece Adolis Garcia has helped the Rangers linger toward the top of the AL West.

The Phillies will close out the homestand with two night games and a Businessperson’s Special on close-out day.

The Phillies dominated the hapless Rockies in Philadelphia in an April sweep. Weaker opponents on the early-season schedule provide an opportunity for a playoff contender to build an advantage at the top of the standings. That’s not easy to do with the regular-season juggernaut Braves in the mix.

A Memorial Day Weekend series in Denver offers the chance for a trip to one of the most beautiful downtown ballparks in the majors, if you have the means.

The series at Citizens Bank Park in early May gives both teams an opportunity to learn the competition. The Phillies will travel back to the Western time zone for the final full series of the month.

San Francisco will return the favor of uncommon start times. They’ll play two afternoon games in the City by the Bay. Monday’s game will start at 5:05pm EST, and Wednesday’s game starts at 3:45pm EST.