In 2011, the Phillies amassed a starting pitching rotation that ESPN referred to as the "best rotation in major league history." This rotation included Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels and Joe Blanton. Blanton was sidelined with injury and was replaced with Vance Worley, a AAA pitcher from the Lehigh Valley IronPigs who amassed an 11–3 record in the 2011 season. The Phillies won 14 consecutive games when Worley started, including games where he did not receive the decision.
On August 16, after a two-day delay because of inclement weather, the Phillies, led by Steve Carlton and Jimmy Rollins, and hosted by Phillies public address announcer Dan Baker, unveiled a 7 feet (210 cm) tall bronze statue of Hall of Fame announcer Harry Kalas in the left field side of the Ashburn Alley outfield concourse at Citizens Bank Park, between the Harry the K's restaurant and the center field statue of Kalas' best friend, Richie Ashburn. Privately-commissioned and funded entirely by donations by fans, this statue shows Kalas standing cross-legged on top of a home plate, with a microphone in his right hand, which is also on top of a baseball bat, which Kalas is leaning upon. A bronze plaque embedded in the concrete walkway at the foot of the statue carries the originally-planned August 14 unveiling date.
The Phillies amassed a 102–60 record, the best in franchise history, and the best regular-season record in MLB in 2011. The previous record of 101–61 was set in both 1976 and 1977. Immediately after the Phillies clinched their division championship in mid-September, while playing several bench players and shuffling their batting order, they suffered an 8-game losing streak, becoming the first team in MLB history to lose 8 straight after winning their division and winning 98 games in a season.
The Phillies eliminated the Atlanta Braves from wild card contention on the last day of the regular season, sweeping a 3-game series against the Braves in Atlanta, erasing an 8 1⁄2 game lead that the Braves held in the wild card lead as of September 1, 2011. The St. Louis Cardinals caught and surpassed the Braves on the last game of the season, and faced the Phillies in the 2011 National League Division Series, which was tied at 2 games apiece as of October 6, 2011. The Phillies lost the deciding Game 5 at Citizens Bank Park the next night. The Cardinals went on to win their eleventh World Series title (most in the National League), defeating the Texas Rangers.
After the 2010 season, Jayson Werth left the Phillies to pursue a more-lucrative contract with the Washington Nationals. One of the highlights of the season occurred on May 29, when Roy Halladay pitched a perfect game, the second in franchise history.
The Phillies finished with a 97–65 record, the best record in major league baseball. In the NLDS, they swept the Cincinnati Reds, 3–0. In Game 1, Halladay's first career postseason start, he hurled a no-hitter, giving up only one walk. It was only the second postseason no-hitter in Major League Baseball history, and the first since Don Larsen's perfect game in the 1956 World Series. The Phillies lost the 2010 National League Championship Series, 4 games to 2, at the hands of the San Francisco Giants, who went on to win their first World Series title since 1954, defeating the Texas Rangers.
The Phillies posted a second consecutive winning April to open the season with an 11–9 record, but the month was marred by the death of "legendary" broadcaster Harry Kalas. After opening the month of May against the rival New York Mets, the Phillies met President Barack Obama to celebrate their World Series victory the previous season, and had two rookie pitchers win consecutive starts for the first time since 2007. Starting pitcher Jamie Moyer earned his 250th career win during the month, while first baseman Ryan Howard and outfielder Raúl Ibáñez became the first Phillies teammates to hit 10 home runs in the same month. Echoing their strong run in the middle of the 2008 season, the Phillies compiled a 16–4 record in late May and early June, which was countered by weakness during interleague play in late June.
After the team's largest victory of the season (22–1 over the Cincinnati Reds) in early July, five Phillies—Howard, Ibáñez, second baseman Chase Utley, and outfielders Shane Victorino and Jayson Werth—were selected to the All-Star team. July was the team's best showing of the season, as they compiled their first 20-win month since the 2001 season. The Phillies traded for starting pitcher Cliff Lee at the end of the month to bolster their starting rotation, who won his first five starts with the team, and signed free-agent pitcher Pedro Martínez. In August, Eric Bruntlett turned the first game-ending unassisted triple play in National League history, and the second in team history. The following month, the team clinched its third consecutive division championship on September 30, becoming the first Phillies team to make a third straight playoff appearance since the 1976–1978 Phillies.
Philadelphia defeated the Colorado Rockies in the National League Division Series (NLDS), 3–1, and the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series (NLCS) for the second consecutive year, 4–1. Howard was named the most valuable player of the NLCS. The Phillies were defeated by the Yankees in the World Series, four games to two.
Though the Phillies were named in some sources as the favorites to repeat as division champions, they did not get off to the blazing April start that many had hoped for. Still, they managed their first winning opening month since 2003, and only their fourth since their last World Series appearance. With a batting average of .360 and his MLB-leading 11 home runs, Chase Utley paced the team's offense, followed closely by a resurgent Pat Burrell and his 25 runs batted in. Though team speed was hampered by the loss of Shane Victorino and Jimmy Rollins to the disabled list, the latter for the first time in his career, the Phillies still pushed forward to a 15–13 record. The pitching rotation was led by ace Cole Hamels, who led the team in wins (3), ERA (2.70), and innings pitched (43 1⁄3). Reliever J. C. Romero and new closer Brad Lidge both went the entire month without sacrificing a single run, over 12 1⁄2 and 11 innings respectively.
Though several fill-in players, including Brad Harman and T.J. Bohn, substituted nicely during Victorino's and Rollins' absence, perhaps none was more valuable to the team during the month of May than Jayson Werth. Expected to be primarily a platoon player coming into the season, Werth showed flashes of the form that once made him such a highly-regarded prospect with the Dodgers. While Utley's bat cooled, Werth had a game with three home runs and stole four bases in the month. Unfortunately, as Rollins and Victorino returned, Werth was lost to the disabled list. Ryan Howard broke out of his early-season slump, hitting .245 in May, nearly an 80 point increase from his average in April, and slugging ten home runs. Hometown pitcher Jamie Moyer also became the sixth pitcher in Major League Baseball history to defeat all 30 teams in the league on the 26th of May, in a 20–5 Phillies win over Colorado. Kyle Kendrick posted a 3–1 record in June 2008.
June was a tale of two halves for the Phillies, as they ended May and started June with a strong run of offense and excellent pitching. From May 26 to June 13, the Phillies posted a 14–4 record, starting their run with a 15–6 win over the Astros and ending with a 20–2 win over the Cardinals. However, the offense took a downturn as the Phillies pitchers began to sacrifice more runs in the latter part of the month. The Phillies went 3–11 over the remainder of June, with the pitchers allowing an average of 4.79 runs per game, to the offense's 3.36 runs scored per game. This was punctuated by a season-high 6-game losing streak. The poor records coincided with the Phillies' stretch of interleague play for 2008, as they were swept by the Angels, and lost their series with the Red Sox, A's, and Rangers, in addition to dropping two NL series against the Cardinals and Marlins. While Hamels and Kyle Kendrick each managed to post a 3–1 record in the rotation, the other starters (Moyer, Adam Eaton, and Brett Myers) were not so lucky. Myers' poor performance received arguably the most scrutiny, based on management's decision to move him back to the rotation from the bullpen after the 2007 season. Myers would eventually accept a demotion to AAA Lehigh Valley to work on his confidence and mechanics.
July began with the announcement that Chase Utley and Brad Lidge would represent the team at the 2008 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, with Utley garnering the most votes of all National League players. The Phillies went 8–4 in July before the All-Star break, compiling a four-game win streak, a four-game losing streak, and winning four of their last five. In a move to bolster their starting rotation in preparation for the pennant race, the Phillies traded three minor league players, including second baseman Adrian Cardenas, pitcher Josh Outman, and outfielder Matthew Spencer to the Athletics for starting pitcher Joe Blanton on July 17.
On September 27, the Phillies clinched the National League East for the second year in a row, once again helped by a late September slump from the New York Mets. The Phillies redeemed their previous year's playoff performance by winning the NLDS three games to one against the Brewers, and they defeated the Dodgers in Los Angeles as well, 4–1. As the National League champions, the Phillies advanced to the 2008 World Series to play the Tampa Bay Rays. After a power outage by the offense in which they went 1 for 33 with runners in scoring position and the first-ever suspended postseason game in World Series history in game five, the Phillies rode their pitching rotation to a 4–1 victory in the Fall Classic; Hamels was named the series MVP for both the NLCS and the World Series.
Even though their sweep from the playoffs was a disappointment, the Phillies started on their quest for October baseball in 2008 by trading OF Michael Bourn, RHP Geoff Geary, and 3B Michael Costanzo (since traded to the Baltimore Orioles) to the Houston Astros for RHP Brad Lidge and IF Eric Bruntlett. They also re-signed LHP J.C. Romero to a three-year deal, in addition to bringing back manager Charlie Manuel and the rest of the coaching staff.
The Phillies signed OF Geoff Jenkins to a two-year deal, to be the left-handed part of a platoon with right-handed OF Jayson Werth. They also signed OF So Taguchi to a one-year deal, as a pinch hitter/backup outfielder. With these new outfielders coming into town, the Phillies sold OF Chris Roberson to the Baltimore Orioles. Most recently, the Phillies acquired free-agent 3B Pedro Feliz, formerly of the San Francisco Giants, inking him to a two-year contract worth $8.5 million. These additions relegated IF/OF Greg Dobbs to a utility role, where he excelled in the previous season as the team's primary left-handed pinch hitter. On February 21, 2008 an arbitrator ruled in Ryan Howard's favor, giving him a $10 million salary for the 2008 season.
Major League Baseball's website also named the Phillies as the favorites for the National League East championship for 2008. Meanwhile, in the wake of the 2007 season and Carlos Beltran's calling out of the 2008 Phillies' team, the Mets–Phillies rivalry now stood as one of the most intense in baseball.
The special assistant to the general manager and long-time Phils coach, John Vukovich, died of brain cancer on March 8, 2007, and was honored on August 10, 2007 by the Phillies organization, which installed a plaque bearing Vukovich's name and accomplishments on the "Wall of Fame" in the Ashburn Alley outfield concourse at Citizens Bank Park. For the 2007 season, the Phillies wore a black circular patch on their right uniform sleeves bearing the letters "VUK" in white.
The Phillies began the 2007 season with a 5–3 home loss on April 2 to the Atlanta Braves after 10 innings. After the first fifteen games, the Phillies limped to a 4–11 record, but then found a five game winning streak to put them back into contention in the National League East. After 40 games, the Phillies finally reached the .500 mark at 20–20.
Heading into the All-Star break, the Phillies split their win/loss record at 44–44, hampered by the loss of starting pitchers Freddy Garcia and Jon Lieber due to injuries that sidelined them for the remainder of the season. They found a bright spot in young pitcher Kyle Kendrick, who rose from the Phillies' AA team in Reading, Pennsylvania to the Phils starting rotation in 2007.
Three Phillies were named to the 2007 All Star Game in San Francisco, California. Chase Utley was the starting second baseman for the National League squad and center fielder Aaron Rowand was named as a backup (his first All Star appearance). Starting pitcher Cole Hamels also appeared in his first All Star Game.
On July 15, 2007, the Phillies lost their 10,000th game, 10–2 to the St. Louis Cardinals on a nationally televised ESPN game. The Phillies became the first North American professional sports franchise to lose 10,000 games.
On September 21, Jimmy Rollins became the first player in major league history to collect 200 hits, 15 triples, 25 home runs, and 25 stolen bases in the same season. Rollins also became the 4th player to have at least 20 home runs, 20 triples, 20 doubles, and 20 stolen bases in a season on September 30, securing the feat on the last day of the season with a sixth inning RBI triple.
On September 12, the Phillies were seven games behind the New York Mets in the National League East, and it appeared as if their division hopes were dashed. However, the Mets suffered an epic collapse on the likes of the "Phold of 1964," going 4–11 over the next fifteen games while the Phillies parried with a strong 12–3 record. The Phillies had defeated the Mets in eight consecutive encounters (between July 1, 2007 and September 16, 2007) and ultimately overtook the Mets by one game on September 28. The Phillies fell back into a first-place tie the following day with a Mets win and a Phillies loss, with only one game remaining in the regular season to decide the champion of the National League Eastern Division.
The Mets would lose their final game of the season. Only minutes later, the Phillies defeated the Washington Nationals, clinching the division for the Phillies for the first time in 14 years. The Phillies won the final game behind 44-year old Jamie Moyer, who in 1980 skipped a day of high school to attend that year's Phillies championship parade down Philadelphia's Broad Street.
After their historic comeback, they were swept in three games by the Colorado Rockies after losing 2–1 in Game 3 on October 6, 2007. It was the first time since 1976 that the Phils were swept in a postseason series.
On November 20, 2007, Jimmy Rollins was named National League MVP, edging out Colorado Rockies left fielder Matt Holliday by 17 votes, making it one of the closest contests since the voting format was adopted in 1938. Along with Ryan Howard's 2006 win, they became the first baseball club with back-to-back MVP winners since the San Francisco Giants's Jeff Kent and Barry Bonds in 2000 and 2001, respectively.
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