The Phillies had a tough time In July. After being nearly flawless for 3 months, they were downright bad for an entire month. They swept the Dodgers in early July, and then did not win another series until this week when they faced the Dodgers again.

In the meantime, the Athletics, Pirates, Yankees, Twins, Guardians, and Mariners all beat them, including the Yankees getting a sweep. Overall, they were 4-11 since the All-Star Break, 5-13 if you count the series they lost to the Athletic heading into the All-Star Break. It had Phillies fans a bit panicked. Many thought the Phillies were collapsing the way we saw the Eagles collapse last season.

RELATED: There Is No Reason To Panic About The Phillies Recent Skid

Did The Phillies Break Out Of Their Slump?

Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images

But this week, have the Phillies turned it around? They have won 3 of their last 4 games, including taking 2 of 3 from the Dodgers. Wheeler threw a gem, Schwarber went off, Harper woke up in a game, and the bullpen seemed to settle down as well.

They faced their biggest competition in the NL and handled them. It pushed them to 5-1 against the Dodgers this season. They finally won a series for the first time since the break. Should we all now relax?

The truth is we should have been relaxed the whole time. Yes, the stretch was frustrating. But if you saw how they played for the first 3 months, you should have always given that more weight than one bad month.

Every team goes cold. They hit their first slump. But this is still a great team. If you don’t believe me, I will give you some numbers that prove it.

Here Are 4 Numbers To Remind You The Phillies Are Still the Best Team

• .698

  A lot has been made this season about the Phillies against winning teams. Well after taking 2 of 3 vs the Dodgers, they are 30-13 (.698) against NL teams who are over .500. Including 5-1 vs the Dodgers, and 3-0 vs the Brewers, the other 2 division leaders. The Phillies have dominated the other good NL teams. only the Braves have a winning record against them, and the Braves might not even be a playoff team with how they are playing. 

  They already have the tie breaker vs the Dodgers and Padres. If they split this upcoming series vs the Diamondbacks, they will have the tiebreaker over them. if they win 1 game in the Brewers series at the end of September, they will have the tie breaker over them. Any team they might see on their path to the World Series, they have so far handled easily this season. 

  Dylan MacKinnon on X (formerly Twitter): "Phillies this season vs NL teams who are currently over .500. (30-13)5-1 vs Dodgers3-0 vs Brewers 5-1 vs Padres4-2 vs Cardinals5-2 vs Giants4-2 vs Mets2-1 vs Dbacks2-4 vs Braves / X"

  Phillies this season vs NL teams who are currently over .500. (30-13)5-1 vs Dodgers3-0 vs Brewers 5-1 vs Padres4-2 vs Cardinals5-2 vs Giants4-2 vs Mets2-1 vs Dbacks2-4 vs Braves

• 8

  A lot was made about the Phillies division lead starting to dwindle. And it did dip  for a bit. It got down to just 5 games, but now it is back to 8 games. The Braves completely failed to take advantage of the Phillies slump, and lost again today already. They went into a slump of their own. The Mets gained some ground, but they were so far back that they are still 8 games back too. They have also slowed down a bit, going 5-5 over their last 10 games.

  A 10-game lead was always going to be tough to hold onto. But the benefit of having that type of cushion is you can afford a small skid. They had a small skid, and it didn’t make much of a dent in that lead. They are also now through the toughest part of their schedule. The red hot D Backs might pose a challenge, but they still have multiple series vs the Marlins and Nationals coming up. They are in tremendous shape to hold onto not only the division lead, but the NL Lead.

  Oh, and they have the best record  in the MLB again.

  Jeff Kerr on X (formerly Twitter): "The #Phillies won a series for the first time since sweeping the Dodgers on July 11. NL East lead - 7.5Less for home-field - 2.5Record against Dodgers - 5-1.596 win percentage best in #MLB / X"

  The #Phillies won a series for the first time since sweeping the Dodgers on July 11. NL East lead - 7.5Less for home-field - 2.5Record against Dodgers - 5-1.596 win percentage best in #MLB

• 7

  Jose Alvarado has been a huge subject of conversation this season. Despite him being one of the best relief pitchers in baseball for the past 2 years, and putting up great numbers in April, May, and June, people freaked out over a bad July for him. They claimed he was too wild, and could not be trusted. But his scoreless appearance against the Dodgers marked 7 straight without a walk. He did give up 2 solo HRs in that time, but after walking 5 people in his 5 outings, he hasn’t walked anyone since 7/19.

  Alvarado had a 2.79 ERA in June, 2.13 ERA in May, and 0.90 ERA in April. He is a great pitcher. One bad month does not change that. he was also fantastic in the playoffs last year, and fantastic in the NLDS and NLCS in 2022. people who are anti-Jose Alvarado do not base that opinion in logic, they are just emotionally reacting to the Grand Slam in the World Series 2 years ago. Alvarado is a huge reason for the Success the Phillies have had these past 3 seasons. He, like many Phillies, had a bad July. But now he is back.

  Dylan MacKinnon on X (formerly Twitter): "7 straight appearances for Alvarado now without a walk, though he did give up 2 HRs in that time. Still, he is looking much better. / X"

  7 straight appearances for Alvarado now without a walk, though he did give up 2 HRs in that time. Still, he is looking much better.

• 1.069

  Kyle Schwarber is a great leadoff hitter. Some people hate to admit it, but the facts are impossible to debate. When leading off games, his slash line is .295/.398/.670/1.069. Why would anyone want to mess with that? He clearly has a knack and a comfort leading off the game. He just hit his 11th leadoff HR of the season. The record is 13, set by Alfonso Soriano. The next best person this season has 8. It is not traditional, but it works. He is one of the best players in the game leading off the game.

  It is not just leading off games either. His power is a bit down this season, but everything else is up. After batting under .200 last season, he is now hitting .261 with 27HRS and an OPS of .894. In August he is now hitting .480/.552/1.160/1.712. Over the last 30 days his slash line is .299/.446/.701/1.148 with 10 HRs. If he keeps this up, he might still hit 40 HRs with a AVG over .270, and a OBP approaching .400. He is not just one of the best hitters on the Phillies, he is one of the best in the league this year.

  Dylan MacKinnon on X (formerly Twitter): "Schwarber now has a slash line of .295/.398/.670/1.069 leading off games. The people who insisted he shouldn't lead off before the season are now completely quiet. / X"

  Schwarber now has a slash line of .295/.398/.670/1.069 leading off games. The people who insisted he shouldn't lead off before the season are now completely quiet.

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