PHILADELPHIA - For two and a half rounds in the 2023 MLB playoffs, the Philadelphia Phillies' offense has been an unstoppable machine, scoring 46 runs in eight games.
But that wasn't always the case.
After an inconsistent regular season, Phillies hitters got together shortly after securing a postseason bid and decided that the arrival of playoff baseball meant they would need to put together better at-bats. And a funny thing happened after they focused on making pitchers work more throughout October: The home runs started to come in bunches.
In two dominating victories over the Arizona Diamondbacks to start the NLCS, the long balls have come often -- and early.