NEW YORK — The joy crept in after Derek Hill leapt and stretched his arm over the Citi Field center field wall, then threw to the infield, saving what certainly would have been a two-run homer from Juan Soto in Friday’s first inning. He said he “blacked out” making the catch. It all felt much more real as the Queens crowd turned silent, as Hill chest bumped Brandon Marsh in the outfield, as Zack Wheeler thanked him in the dugout.“That is the best (catch) I’ve ever seen in person,” Wheeler said.“That was unbelievable,” interim manager Don Mattingly said. “Even (watching it on) the replay — almost even better.”
CATCH OF THE YEAR?!?! 🤯 pic.twitter.com/PuQoEnQ5tY
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) June 26, 2026It was another turn in an improbable week for the platoon outfielder who has played on seven major-league teams, only arriving in Philadelphia after Adolis Garcia’s season-ending lat tear. Another turn in an improbable week for the Phillies, who staged three ninth-inning comebacks against the Washington Nationals and scored the winning run in the seventh to win 2-1 against the New York Mets on Friday. Another turn in a winning season that would have seemed improbable two months ago, when the Phillies flailed and manager Rob Thomson lost his job.Exactly two months before the Mets and Phillies met on Friday, both teams sat at 9-19. Their paths have dramatically diverged since. The Mets fired manager Carlos Mendoza on Friday in hopes of salvaging their season; the subsequent loss moved them to 34-48. The Phillies, two months after Thomson was fired, reached a season-best 10 games above .500 with Friday’s win (46-36).This weekend means much to the Mets and much less to the Phillies, who can now afford to lose a game or two without much concern. After two months spent clawing back, they have breathing room — a remarkable thing.“The first goal was to get to .500,” Mattingly said. “Then it goes to five, and now it’s 10. The next step is 15. You keep going. It’s been good to be able to get there. … Now it’s a matter of can we consistently run and stay at our pace?”To do that, the Phillies will need contributions from more than just Marsh, Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber. That is part of the pattern they fell into soon after Mattingly took over: starting pitching had to be close to flawless, one of those three hitters had to do something spectacular, and the leverage relievers had to be close to perfect. It worked, but it was formulaic and often nerve-racking.This month, the Phillies have gotten what they sought from the rest of their lineup. Their team OPS in June is .787. In April, it was .691. Their right-handed hitters are still somewhat struggling, but the group’s OPS has improved to a .714 OPS in June from .599 in April — small steps in the right direction.“We’re scoring some runs — all different ways,” Wheeler said. “That’s always fun when everybody’s clicking at the same time. That’s what we’ve got to do. We got ourselves in a hole, and we’ve got to come back out of it.”The runs are coming via the homer, as expected, but in small bursts, too. In the seventh on Friday, the Phillies strung together a single, a walk and another single to take a 2-1 lead. They have seen contributions from Hill, who scored the game-winning run Friday, and Bryson Stott and Edmundo Sosa, among others, in recent games. The variety is welcome. It is not just one heroic feat but little moments stacked one by one — a more sustainable approach.Trea Turner, among baseball’s worst hitters through the first two months, is finding his place. He is now hitting .267/.313/.322 in June, and has gone 8-for-20 in his last four games. Who knows if it is fleeting; the Phillies have faith it is not.“Schwarb and Harp and those guys,” Mattingly said, “you count on them all the time. You count on Trea, honestly, all the time. We’re going to need contributions all through the lineup. You see clubs that are led by a few guys, but (you’re) not really getting where you need to go unless you have a group of guys having good years.”It is just over halfway through the Phillies’ season. There is still so much time.At the very least, the Phillies have given fans something to care about, a summer worth spending under shimmering sunsets at Citizens Bank Park or Citi Field or wherever else. All of that felt in jeopardy, the sky falling and losses piling up in April. Now, two months later, they have won their first game at Citi Field in a year and a half. For the first time since September 2024, the Phillies lined up on the Citi Field grass to exchange handshakes and high-fives. There is so much left to unfold.
