Trea Turner's hot bat sets the tone in Phillies' 10-6 win over Pirates

PHILADELPHIA - When you're a two-time batting champion in the midst of a three-month slump, everyone looks for the littlest hint of a breakout. A line drive here, a home run there, anything to forecast the inevitable hot streak.

Trea Turner has heard it since April.

"When [reporters] ask me if I'm back, I'm like, ‘I don't know,'" the Phillies' star shortstop said recently. "Like, I've got to do it for three, four days. You could have a good game here or there, but it's about consistency."

OK, then. How about two weeks' worth of good games? Or three consecutive games with a homer? Or turning on a sweeper from Paul Skenes and hitting it into the left-field seats Wednesday night to power a 10-6 pounding of the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Phillies' seventh win in nine games?

Is Turner finally hot?

Was it 96 degrees at first pitch?

Interim manager Don Mattingly seems amused by the topic. After Turner doubled, homered and drove in three runs on his 33rd birthday Tuesday night, Mattingly answered a question with two playful questions: "Is he coming back? Is he going yet?"

But it's clear Turner has rediscovered his stroke. Since June 17, when he was reinstalled in the leadoff spot, he's 21 for 60 to hike his average from .216 to .239 and his OPS from .595 to .655.

It's still not the production that Turner is accustomed to, but hey, it's a start. And it's happening at a perfect time, too.

Not only are the Phillies (49-38) closing fast on the division-leading Braves, going from 9 1/2 games out on June 7 to only 2 1/2, but the trade deadline is looming on Aug. 3. The Phillies entered play Wednesday with the lowest OPS in baseball from their right-handed hitters (.607). But as much as they needed another bat from the right side, they're unlikely to be able to acquire one as good as Turner.

In case any of the 41,766 paying customers forgot after Turner finished fifth in the NL MVP race last season, his tone-setting ability was on display again in the worst start of Skenes' career.

A presupposed pitchers' duel between Skenes and Zack Wheeler turned into a dud. The Phillies thumped Skenes for eight runs (seven earned) in four innings; Wheeler gave up four runs in 4 2/3 innings, snapping his streak of 53 starts of at least five innings dating back to June 2024.

Neither ace exhibited his usual command. And Skenes was hurt by the Pirates' defense. With the bases loaded in the second inning, Justin Crawford chopped a ball to third baseman Nick Gonzales, whose throw to the plate hit Alec Bohm and rolled away, enabling two runs to score.

Up stepped Turner, who got a sweeper on the inner half of the plate and pulled it out to left field for a three-run homer.

Skenes hadn't allowed more than five runs in any of his previous 72 major-league starts. The Phillies hung a five-spot on him in the second inning.

They added on, too. Brandon Marsh led off the third inning with a homer to continue his push to start the All-Star Game on July 14 before Bryce Harper ripped a two-run double in the fourth inning.

Skenes has allowed 39 earned runs all season; 12 have come against the Phillies, who clipped him for five runs May 17 in Pittsburgh.

Wheeler left with an 8-3 lead after laboring for 104 pitches, matching his season-high. Mattingly gave him a chance to complete the fifth inning, but he yielded a bloop RBI single to Gonzales.

The Pirates got to within 8-6 in the seventh inning against reliever Seth Johnson. But Orion Kerkering and Jhoan Duran recorded the final six outs, with breathing room from Bohm's two-run homer in the eighth.

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This story was originally published July 1, 2026 at 9:41 PM.