𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

NEW YORK — After Kyle Schwarber delivered a fastball 408 feet to right-center on Sunday, he thought back to the first time he hit 30 home runs.

It took him 128 games as a 24-year-old in 2017. Nine years later, at 33, it took him 80 games — even better than last year, when he hit his 30th in Game 94 of the Phillies’ season. It is remarkable.

“I don’t know if I’ve seen anybody quite like him,” said interim manager Don Mattingly, who has been around the game for 37 years. “He’s a little different than the guys I played with. It’s a different time. … But he’s amazing in what he does.”

In his 12th season, Schwarber has posted perhaps the best first half of his career, becoming the fastest to 30 home runs in franchise history with Sunday’s seventh-inning homer against the New York Mets. Five of Schwarber’s home runs have come in his past seven games; it is June, after all. And Sunday’s go-ahead blast sent the Phillies home series winners, taking the final game versus the Mets 5-4 to finish off a 5-2 road trip.

Schwarber leads the majors in homers and is on pace to hit 58 this season, which would tie Ryan Howard’s franchise record set in 2008.

He has often spoken of records, milestones and success as things he will reflect on when he retires. He did not dwell too long on 30 during or after the game.

“I don’t care about records any time that we come here,” Schwarber said. “It’s always some really high stress games and quality games on both sides of the field. And to get that momentum back on our side was a good feeling.”

So much feels possible when Schwarber is performing this way. When Jesús Luzardo and the bullpen gave up a three-run lead on Sunday, he was there. During the third of three absurd ninth innings in Washington D.C., he was there.

The contributions from everyone else are more than welcome, of course. But good things tend to happen for the Phillies when Schwarber shines — and the second half isn’t even here yet.

Defensive woes

Gabriel Rincones Jr.’s woes in right field are part of a bigger defensive issues overall for the Phillies. (Caleb Bowlin / Getty Images)

Gabriel Rincones Jr., called up after right fielder Adolis García’s season-ending right lat tear, was not expected to be his equal on defense. Still, what he has shown in right field has not been ideal — particularly on Saturday.

His read on Bo Bichette’s liner, which was hit just 65.7 mph to right, may have cost the Phillies an out in the sixth. His jump on Juan Soto’s run-scoring triple in the seventh was not as sharp as it could’ve been. The Mets scored six runs across those innings — not solely Rincones’ fault, but defense played a role.

Rincones is a platoon outfielder, playing a position the Phillies may upgrade at the trade deadline. But his woes are part of a bigger problem: The club’s defense has been rough. The Phillies are second-worst in the majors in Outs Above Average (minus-27) and in Defensive Runs Saved (minus-20). Defensive metrics are an imperfect measuring tool, but they are one indicator of how poorly things have gone.

“There’s times I like (the defense),” Mattingly said, “and there’s times I don’t feel as good about it. It’s kind of day to day. … In general, it’s been OK. I’d like to see us continue to tighten everything up, get better.”

Better results at the plate have given the Phillies some latitude to make mistakes on defense. But the cracks have shown in low-scoring games with little insulation.

Infield coach Bobby Dickerson said his group has “underachieved up to this point.”

“As far as I’m concerned, we just have to have better ball security as a group,” Dickerson said. “Our anticipation of contact has to be better as a group. We’ve won a lot of ball games in the last two months, and I know we still have a bit better defense that we’re capable of playing.”

Trea Turner’s defense at shortstop and Bryce Harper’s at first have been among the issues. Turner has the fifth-most errors of any shortstop in the majors (10), while Harper’s defense at first base has dropped at times. He laid out for Francisco Lindor’s triple in Saturday’s sixth inning, but was unable to catch the hard-hit ball (102.4 mph exit velocity). Afterward, Harper said he felt like he could’ve made a play and was upset about it.

The Phillies are not built to be defense-forward. But they can still be better than what they’ve shown.

Bullpen thoughts

Brad Keller took a step forward in his return from right forearm tendinitis, throwing on flat ground in New York this weekend. Next up will be throwing on a mound and live sessions before an eventual rehab assignment. So, there is plenty of time before bullpen decisions must be made.

The Phillies have cultivated strong bullpen depth this year, and players on the fringes were tested in recent games. Chase Shugart, who has been solid in middle relief, gave up three runs in one-third of an inning on Sunday. Seth Johnson has done what’s expected aside from a two-run outing in D.C., as he’s struck out four and walked one across four innings since June 18. He was excellent at Triple A (1.33 ERA in 27 innings), and has likely earned some runway in the majors. Perhaps Shugart is the odd man out when the Phillies decide to make a move, giving Johnson a longer look.

There will be relievers circulating throughout the summer. Who knows what might happen before Keller is available again. But Johnson, at least, has given the Phillies something to think about. So has lefty Kyle Backhus, who allowed two runs on Saturday (but was also hurt by the defense). The Phillies have trusted Backhus to pitch in bigger spots following lefty Tanner Banks’ demotion to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, where he has somewhat struggled (but has also been hurt by bad defense). The Phillies don’t need a bullpen full of lefties, but have preferred to carry a few this season. Should Backhus continue to succeed, the decision about who will be made for them.

The Phillies, at least, have several options and a strong leverage core. It is certainly an improvement from previous seasons.