The Philadelphia Phillies just got a huge lift from an unlikely source.
The Philadelphia Phillies' offense has been laboring recently, and while no one individual player is responsible, it's pretty clear to point to Brandon Marsh and identify him as arguably the biggest culprit.
Heading into Tuesday's game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Marsh had registered a .475 OPS over 57 games since the All-Star break. That was the worst of any qualifying hitter in all of baseball. He also hadn't homered since Aug. 13 and hadn't had an extra-base hit since Aug. 22.
Marsh has essentially been an automatic out over the last two-plus months, and it has been painful to watch.
Until Tuesday.
With the Phillies in need of a big win to further solidify their playoff positioning, Marsh delivered, going 2-for-4 with a two-run home run and an RBI double. And the double just missed being his second long ball of the day by inches.
It was an outstanding performance by Marsh and a feel-good story considering all of the struggles he's been through since July.
It also makes you wonder if the 28-year-old has broken out of it?
I think we can all agree that Marsh is probably not the player who had an .890 OPS through June 7. He was undoubtedly playing over his head at that point, and his nine dingers in the month of June were also definitely an outlier.
Keep in mind: Marsh had never hit more than 16 home runs in a single season before this year.
But he also isn't the virtually unplayable bat we had seen in recent months. He's a lifetime .740 OPS hitter, and in the three preceding campaigns, he OPSed .829, .747 and .785, respectively. So, yeah: Marsh is definitely better than whatever version we have been witnessing throughout the back half of 2026.
The question, of course, is whether or not his breakout game against the Brewers will serve as somewhat of a wake-up call for the six-year veteran.
It's only one game, so it remains to be seen. But it was hard not to be encouraged with what we saw from Marsh on Tuesday.
Yes, it would surely be nice to see Bryce Harper find his home-run stroke again, and it would be cool to see Kyle Schwarber do something. But Marsh's breakthrough was absolutely a sight for sore eyes.
The playoffs are just around the corner, so hopefully, Marsh is finding his rhythm just in time.
