97.5 The Fanatic Phillies Notebook: Doubleheader Intensifies Crowd

When the Philadelphia Phillies began their doubleheader on Wednesday, they had a chance to clinch their sixth straight series victory. They won the first half to force a rubber match, but they ended the night to a chorus of boos from an intense crowd at Citizens Bank Park in an ugly loss.

Aaron Nola allowed nine earned runs off 12 hits, both career highs, in only 3 ⅔ innings pitched. Brandon Marsh committed a sloppy error in center field that brought on the wrath of the home crowd.

The pressure of a demanding market whose World Series or bust mentality drives intense criticism seemed to weigh on the Phillies through the opening weeks of the season.

Tension crept into Citizens Bank Park during an ugly April series against the San Francisco Giants. The fan base pressed the panic button when the New York Mets swept the Phillies at Citi Field. One critic invoked the comparison to the infamous 2012 season that led the franchise into a decade of dormancy.

All the Phillies have done since the ugly three-game set against the Mets is win 12 of 18 games. They’ve responded to adversity impressively early in 2025.

The Phillies became the hit of the town when Garrett Stubbs blasted “Dancing On My Own” as a spontaneous rallying cry in Red October 2022. Bryson Stott sparked the same homefield advantage with an “AOK” season in 2023 before the Phillies suffered a heartbreaking playoff exit.

An impressive jumpstart in 2024 had Brandon Marsh feeling “loose and sexy” in first place in the National League East.

Stubbs lost his roster spot to a backup catcher hitting .160 this season. Marsh himself is also resting below the Mendoza line while long-term questions surround Kyle Schwarber and other central figures of this Phillies era.

How is the mood inside the clubhouse?

The ability to respond to pressure and adversity will play a significant role in determining the outcome of the 2025 season. 

Thomson carries himself with a calm, collected demeanor that his players can benefit from in the face of chaos in the most passionate market in professional sports.

He needed a patience to ignore E-A-G-L-E-S chants (the aggressive kind that challenge the Phillies) at Citizens Bank Park in the back end of the doubleheader against the Cardinals.

He also needed it to control the temperature of the dugout when a demanding crowd booed one of the best starters in franchise history. The little patience that Philadelphia had for this team has disappeared, and Thomson has undertaken the task of steering the ship straight to a World Series despite the pressure.

No player symbolizes the intensity and drive of the Philadelphia market better than Bryce Harper.

The high-prcied slugger hasn’t broken out offensively this season. He’s passed the quarter point of the season with only seven home runs and a respectable but underwhelming .771 OPS.

He chased pitches outside the zone with a swing and a miss in each of his first three at-bats in the series finale against the Cardinals.

Harper performed well for the Phillies in the first game of the doubleheader with two hits, one walk, and a long fly out to the warning track in right field. He also doubled and homered in a 7-1 win in Cleveland on Saturday.

The 32-year-old is sitting on 999 career RBI. The home crowd will applaud the franchise hero if he reaches the milestone in Philadelphia this weekend.

However, the weight of the world won’t leave his shoulders for the remainder of his 13-year contract running through 2031.

The inaugural MLB Rivalry Weekend will feature matchups between teams with geographic proximity, common history, or other novelty connection.

The Phillies and the Pirates haven’t clashed in any memorable rivalry classics during the 21st century. Philadelphia fans point to the New York Mets and the Atlanta Braves as the chief rivals. It’s more likely you’ll see a baseball fan sneer at the idea rather than show excitement about reigniting The Forgotten Rivalry of Phillies History.

However, the sentiment was much different when Mike Schmidt and Willie Stargell competed as respective team leaders in the former National League East during the 1970s and the 1980s.

Creative novelty ideas are also necessary to disrupt the monotony of a 162-game regular season.

Last season’s showcase at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama to celebrate the legacy of the Negro Leagues generated midseason conversation about the sport and appreciation for an underdiscussed part of its history.

The Field of Dreams games in Dyersville, Iowa have paid tribute to a cultural classic that celebrates baseball in its purest form.

The idea of a cross-state rivalry will inevitably seem a little bit forced to diehards of the new generation who have barely seen a competitive matchup against a franchise that’s deteriorated with financial issues and questionable ownership.

MLB fans nationally will also focus much more on the Yankees-Mets Subway Series or a bitter territorial feud between the North Side and South Side of Chicago.

However, showcasing the Phillies-Pirates series as a rivalry is a necessary attempt to create an attractive novelty. An open mind might even encourage fans from two great sports cities anchoring corners of the state to take an extra weekend road trip across the Pennsylvania Turnpike to visit an opponent's beautiful ballpark.

The Pittsburgh Penguins and the Philadelphia Flyers ignited one of the fiercest rivalries in the NHL in the 2010s. The same vitriol existed between the fan bases at Veterans Stadium or Three Rivers Stadium. Imagine the same venom at Citizens Bank Park and PNC Park.

If the rivalry ever catches steam, two teams on opposite sides of Pennsylvania would become the ideal matchup for the Little League Classic in Williamsport, PA, another novelty showcase that promotes a regular-season matchup as more than just one of 162.

The Phillies will enjoy a much-needed rest day after the doubleheader. They'll will host the Bucs at Citizens Bank Park in a three-game weekend set. Paul Skenes will make his Philadelphia debut in the series finale.

All numbers as of the beginning of play on May 15. All advanced stats courtesy of StatCast, Baseball Reference, and FanGraphs.