Sweep Smell of Success

As far as ways to begin a baseball season go, the Phillies couldn't have done much better than what they accomplished over the weekend against the defending NL East Division champion Atlanta Braves.

They swept all three games by a combined score of 23-11. They hit 8 home runs and have 5 different hitters with an OPS topping 1.000. As a team, they're slashing .384/.562/.946.

And while the pitching hasn't been as good as the offense, they have held opposing hitters to a .221 batting average while walking 16. And did I mention the Phillies are the only unbeaten team in baseball? They are 3-0 for the first time since 2011. And it was the first time they swept a division rival to open the season in 18 years.

It's been said teams don't win pennants in April (or March). But they can lose them with a slow start. The next 5 weeks are absolutely packed with games against division rivals. They have 8 games against the Nationals, 7 against the Marlins, and 6 against the Mets. The Phils need to keep mashing and steamroll through the division.

If they win 2 out of every 3 home games and play .500 on the road, you're looking at 95 or 96 wins. Yeah, it's early. But it's been an awful lot of fun. The fun continues Tuesday in Washington. #RingTheBell