Philadelphia Phillies Stars Need to Step Up to Get Team on Track

The struggles of some Philadelphia Phillies stars have contributed to the team's struggles in the second half.

Jul 22, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper (3) celebrates with shortstop Trea Turner (7) after hitting a a two run home run against the Minnesota Twins in the first inning at Target Field. / Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

The Philadelphia Phillies are hoping that the last two games against the Los Angeles Dodgers are a sign of things getting back on track. Prior to these two wins, the team was among the worst teams in baseball in the second half.

In their first 16 games of the second half, the Phillies went 4-12, watching their lead in the National League East shrink considerably. Every team has some lulls during the long regular season, and they could be breaking out of theirs.

Defeating the Dodgers in two out of three games is as good of a confidence boost as a team can receive. A lot of thanks can be given to Kyle Schwarber, who hit three home runs and knocked in seven runs to win Game 3 of the series 9-4.

If Philadelphia wants to build upon that positive momentum, they are going to need some of their star players to pick up their performance at the plate. Two of the players they are counting on most, Trea Turner and Bryce Harper, have not been playing at the level we have become accustomed to in the second half.

In a post shared by BrooksGate on X, the change in performances for players in the first half of the season through this week in the second half were shared. Unfortunately for the Phillies, their two stars are on the list with the biggest drop-offs.

In the second half of the season, for games leading up to August 6th, Turner has seen a .458 drop in his OPS. That is second highest in the majors behind only Will Smith of the Dodgers, who dropped .516 points.

No. 5 on the list is Harper, who had an OPS of .983 in the first half but only .580 in the second half, for a difference of .403 points. Without any players on the opposite end of the spectrum outperforming their first-half numbers, the Philadelphia offense has suffered.

the hitters with the biggest difference between their 1st and 2nd half OPS pic.twitter.com/jB42mZTtx4

— BrooksGate (@Brooks_Gate) August 6, 2024

It is hard to imagine Turner and Harper staying in their slumps for much longer. Everyone goes through some ups and downs during the season, but they are too good of players to not figure things out.

For Philadelphia’s sake, hopefully, that is sooner rather than later that they heat up again. Two of your best players slumping at the same time is far from ideal, but better it is happening now than in September heading into the postseason.

At least the All-Star duo has plenty of time to work out the kinks and find a rhythm again as the Phillies are expecting to make a deep run in October this year.