The Phillies finally took a step in the right direction last night with a 4-3 win in San Diego against a struggling Padres team. They entered last night’s series opener losing four straight games. After last night’s win, they are now four games behind the NL East leading Atlanta Braves and four games behind the final Wild Card spot which is currently held by the Padres.

Through the first two innings, everything looked similar to the bad play that the Phillies endured while getting swept by a terrible Arizona Diamondbacks team. With two outs in the top of the third inning, a light switch finally turned on, and JT Realmuto worked an eight pitch at-bat and crushed a double to left field to score Jean Segura.

The Phillies had a 1-0 lead.

Bryce Harper then followed, with a two-run home run, his 23rd of the season, to give the Phillies a 3-0 lead. Padres’ pitcher Blake Snell lasted only five innings, allowing two hits, three runs, and two walks, while striking out nine. For the Phillies, Matt Moore pitched just over four innings, allowing three hits, two earned runs, and four walks, while striking out four.

The Phillies’ bullpen worked themselves in and out of jams all night long to secure the lead. After the Phillies pitching staff walked 11 Padres batters on the night, the bullpen only allowed one hit and one earned run while striking out seven.

Andrew McCutchen added an insurance run in the eighth inning with a double to drive home Jean Segura, who walked three times on the night.

Ian Kennedy pitched a four-out save, his 20th of the season.

This is the recipe for the Phillies to win ball games. The middle of the order has to be able to carry this offense. Bryce Harper and JT Realmuto finally snapped out of some ugly skids as of late and produced for the Phillies when they needed it most.

Things should continue to get better for the Phillies lineup, as Rhys Hoskins should be coming off the injury list any day now. Before Hoskins went on the 10-Day Injured List, the Phillies finally had the heart of their lineup getting hot at the same time. During their five game winning streak heading into the Mets series, JT Realmuto, Bryce Harper, and Rhys Hoskins have gone for a combined 24-for-52, with 10 doubles, and four home runs.

Here was the production before Rhys went down:

• JT Realmuto is slashing .414/.452/.665 with 12 hits, one home run, and 11 RBI over his last seven games.
• Rhys Hoskins is slashing .327/.450/.714 with 16 hits, four home runs, and 13 RBI over his last 15 games.
• Bryce Harper is slashing .356/.459/.654 with 37 hits, five home runs, and 19 RBI over his last 30 games.

There are now two paths to the playoffs, and the Phillies are just four games behind in both scenarios, whether it be the National League East division race or the National League Wild Card.

Tonight: Aaron Nola (7-7, 4.48 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 163 strikeouts) Padres: Joe Musgrove (8-8, 3.17 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 151 strikeouts)

Ring It.