Philadelphia Phillies Stars Win Pitcher, Player of the Month

The Phillies have the been on a roll all season and it continued with two players earning monthly honors.

Jun 27, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper (3) hits an RBI double against the Miami Marlins in the first inning at Citizens Bank Park. Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports / Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports

The Philadelphia Phillies have the best record in baseball, are dominating in All-Star voting and now add to their dominant resume. It was announced that Bryce Harper won NL Player of the Month and Cristopher Sanchez won NL Pitcher of the Month. It was the first time two Phillies won both awards in the same month since 1980 when Mike Schmidt and Steve Carlton did it.

June marks the fourth time Bryce Harper has won the award in his career and second this season. A dominant June before being placed on the injured list, the two time MVP put up video game numbers. He slashed .374/.452/.714 for a whopping 1.166 OPS and 220 OPS+. The lefty compiled 17 extra base hits, including seven home runs, and drove in 16 on the way to the award.

Harper looked to be in the thick of the NL MVP race before going down with a hamstring strain. Although he shouldn't miss a lot of time, he will still have to climb his way back in the race that has a lot of compeition.

On the season, Harper has a .981 OPS with 20 home runs and a 176 OPS+. He currently leads NL first baseman in All-Star voting.

The recipient of the NL Pitcher of the Month was Cristopher Sanchez. The lefty is in his fourth big league season and is having a stellar year, but was particularly locked down in June. He made five starts and threw 33 innings, only allowing six earned runs leading to a 1.64 ERA. Sanchez struck out 23 batters to just four walks all month. His WHIP was 0.818.

Those June stats included a complete game shutout in his most recent outing against the Miami Marlins. He struck out nine and only allowed three base runners, all on hits.

Sanchez led the Phillies rotation in June to help them keep the best record in baseball in a month where Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola and Ranger Suarez all took a step back.

The 27-year-old has a 2.49 ERA on the season in 93.1 innings with 79 strikeouts.

The Phillies, atop the NL East, will likely be a team that's in on every star player available at the deadline. A team that has made the NLCS two years in a row as a Wild Card team, they will want to keep a tight grip on the division. However, with performances they are getting from players like Sanchez and Harper in June, they are still sitting pretty.