The Phillies are shockingly scoring some runs

The Phillies have scored 257 runs this season, averaging 3.34 runs per game. Both those figures are second-worst in baseball, with only the Atlanta Braves doing worse. They are 27th in homers per game (0.91), last in doubles per game (1.39) and team batting average (.232), and 29th in walks per game (2.34), total bases per game (12.22) and OPS (.661).

Everyone knows the offense has been a train wreck. They have scored two runs or fewer in 39% of their games (30 out of 77). It’s not a secret. But pleasantly, the offense has returned during the team’s current road trip.

In six games away from Citizens Bank Park (three in Minnesota and three in typically hard-to-score San Francisco), the Phillies have mashed, scoring 36 runs in those six games. And, if you’ll whip out your graphic calculators with me, that equates to 6.0 runs per game, almost double their season average.

Now, we are talking about a very small sample size. No one is saying the offense is turning anything around. This is likely just a decent week or the odds evening out a little. But it has been welcome nonetheless.

Over his last six games, Maikel Franco is batting .300/.500/.650 with a wRC+ of 194 during that time. Perhaps most encouraging of all is he’s walked seven times in his last 28 plate appearances. It would be a welcome development for his offensive game to turn around.

But he’s not the only one who has excelled over the last seven days.

Peter Bourjos is suddenly the hottest hitter on the team, batting .478/.538/.696 in his last 27 PAs, Cameron Rupp is mashing .316/.381/.842 in his last 21 PAs, and Cody Asche is hitting .400/.429/.600 in his last 21 plate appearances.

The double play duo of Freddy Galvis (.280/.308/.529 in 29 PAs) and Cesar Hernandez (.333/.375/.467 in 16 PAs) have managed to contribute something offensively over the last week, and even though he hasn’t been at his best, you can live with a slumping Odubel Herrera if that slump involves him batting .259/.300/.407 in his last 30 PAs.

Over the last seven days, the Phils as a team are batting .294/.347/.514 with 10 homers and a wRC+ of 129 that is 5th-best in baseball.

This is certainly not predictive and it’s just as likely the Phillies will score four runs total in their three-game series in Arizona this week. But for one week at least, a competent Major League offense has been wearing Phillies pinstripes.