Elmo fixes Alec Bohm, Phillies beat the Rockies 9-3

I’ve been saying for weeks that Alec Bohm needed to sit. His at-bats were empty and the .161 average and .433 OPS were were crisis numbers, making it clear as day that Edmundo Sosa should be starting at third or at the very least, a platoon there was the obvious answer.

Mattingly finally gave Alec Bohm two days off to reset. Bohm didn’t swing a bat Thursday, took BP on Friday, and then on Saturday, he walked into the lineup against Colorado lefty Kyle Freeland and homered on the third pitch he saw.

Elmo officially saves Alec Bohm + a Schwarbomb

ELMO WANTS TO SEE SOME HOME RUNS pic.twitter.com/FVPTpEnVRm

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) May 9, 2026

Then he homered again his next at-bat. Then he ripped a two-run single in the eighth. The Phillies won 9-3 and Bohm looked like a different human being at the plate for the first time since Opening Day.

BOHM HE DID IT AGAIN pic.twitter.com/jQ3zdMLIc9

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) May 9, 2026

Funny how that works.

You take a guy who has been pressing for five straight weeks, give him two days to breathe, let him take some swings in the cage without 40,000 people watching him fail, and suddenly the barrel shows up again. Revolutionary coaching strategy right there. Someone alert the analytics department.

The Swings Were Legit

I’m not going to sit here and say one game fixes everything because it doesn’t. One barrel on 107 batted balls through the first five weeks of the season is a real problem that two homers against Kyle Freeland don’t erase overnight. But the swings Saturday were genuinely encouraging.

The first homer came on a hitter’s count. Bohm took a first-pitch cutter inside, watched a knuckle curve, and sat on a fastball in a 2-0 count. He pulled his hands in and drove it 101.2 mph at a 38-degree launch angle into the left-field seats. He knew what was coming and he punished it. That’s the Bohm who hit .280 two years ago.

The second one was even better. Down 1-2 in the count, fouled off two tough pitches, then got a strong knuckle curve just off the plate and dropped the barrel on it with enough backspin to sneak a low liner over the left-field wall. A two-strike homer on a pitcher’s pitch. Alec Bohm finally looked like a guy who could see the ball again.

Here’s the thing that makes Alec Bohm’s slump so confusing.

His plate discipline has been fine all year. Top 16 percent in chase rate, whiff rate, and strikeout percentage. He hasn’t been swinging at garbage. He hasn’t been striking out at some alarming clip. He’s just been unable to barrel anything.

The approach has been there. The contact quality hasn’t. Saturday the quality showed up. If it stays, the Phillies have their third baseman back. If it doesn’t, we’re right back to the Sosa conversation by next week.

Trea Turner Had Four Hits on Seven Swings

Trea Turner came into Saturday 4-for-32 in May. He was lost and had no power or any sense of rhythm. Saturday he collected four hits against Freeland, marking his second four-hit game of the season.

The best part? Turner said he only took seven swings all day.

"I didn't swing the bat until I got in the game."

Trea Turner is trying to make sense of his new approach to hitting. | @WapnerNewman pic.twitter.com/cKxzWSf8VG

— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) May 10, 2026

All of them during the game. No batting practice. No cage work. Nothing.

Seven swings in a Major League game and four of them were hits. I have no idea if that’s a legitimate strategy or just a guy who was so fed up with overthinking that he decided to stop thinking entirely. Either way, it worked. Sometimes the best thing a hitter can do is stop trying to fix everything and just go play baseball.

Three of the four hits weren’t classified as hard-hit, which is a theme with Turner this year. His average exit velocity of 90.2 mph is actually his highest since 2019 though. The chase rate and strikeout rate are both up about four percentage points from last year’s batting title season.

Those need to come back down obviously, but seeing Turner spray the ball around the field and collect four hits against a left-handed starter is a welcome sight for a team that has been 0-10 and then 1-10 against lefty starters.

The Right-Handed Hitters Finally Did Something Against a Lefty

Eight hits from right-handed bats against Freeland. The Phillies are still just 2-10 against left-handed starters this season, which remains historically ugly.

Saturday was the first time the right side of the lineup actually looked like it belonged in the box against a southpaw. Bohm, Turner, Garcia, and the rest of the righties all contributed. If that carries forward, the Phillies’ biggest offensive weakness suddenly becomes a lot less crippling.

Garcia deserves a mention here too. Over his last 15 games he’s slashing .298/.339/.474 with a 52 percent hard-hit rate that’s the highest of his career. He’s chasing less and walking more than he ever has. The man has quietly become one of the most reliable bats in the lineup and nobody is talking about it.

Nola Was Mediocre but the Bullpen Saved the Day

Nola went 4 2/3 innings with three earned runs, six hits, and two walks. His four-seamer still isn’t missing bats with one whiff on 12 swings. Five of six hits came against left-handed hitters. The ERA is still above five. It wasn’t a disaster but it wasn’t anywhere close to what the Phillies need from their number two starter.

The bullpen bailed him out completely. Three and a third scoreless, hitless innings with six strikeouts from Banks and Shugart. Since May started, Phillies relievers have the second-most strikeouts in the National League. The bullpen has been legitimately good under Mattingly and Saturday was the latest example.

18-22. Bohm Is Back. Maybe.

The Phillies are 18-22. Bohm hit two homers and looked like a real hitter again. Turner had four hits on seven swings. The righties produced against a lefty. The bullpen was dominant.

At least for one day, Mattingly’s reset worked.

Whether it lasts is the only question that matters. I’ve been watching Bohm struggle for five weeks and one game against Kyle Freeland is not going to make me forget the .161 average and the one barrel on 107 batted balls.

The swings Saturday were different. The confidence looked different. The timing looked different. If that version of Bohm is back for good, this lineup gets significantly more dangerous.

Let me be clear though. Alec Bohm is still at the very bottom of the trust tree. Saturday was nice. Two homers against a lefty with an ERA above five in a home game against Colorado is not going to move the needle on where he stands with me.

What moves the needle is doing this consistently through May and June and July and then showing up in October when the games actually matter. That’s where Bohm has to prove himself. Not against Kyle Freeland in early May.

Saturday was a start. Nothing more. If it turns into something real, I’ll be the first person to give him credit. Until then, he’s at the bottom of the trust tree and he’s going to have to climb his way up one at-bat at a time. No shortcuts.

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