The Philadelphia Phillies are back on track after winning three games in a row to once again maintain a comfortable 8.0 game lead over the Atlanta Braves for the top spot in the National League East.

These wins came at the right time, as the Phillies were stuck in a nearly two-month stretch of mediocre baseball that left many fans wondering what happened to a team that seemed unstoppable in April and May. With two home games remaining against the Washington Nationals, 55-68, a series win would certainly bring good energy back to a team and an increasingly frustrated fan base that has been hoping for a return to the kind of dominant play that has kept the entire baseball world on tenterhooks for the first few months of the season.

With the Phillies facing a crucial six-game road trip next week where they face playoff-ready teams like the Braves and Kansas City Royals, a series win over the Nationals is crucial for the Phillies to maintain their comfortable lead in the division heading into the home stretch of the 2024 season.

As the Phillies roll up their sleeves and prepare to face a number of opponents over the next few weeks, the team and manager Rob Thomson hope to do so with a full 26-man roster for the first time since early May.

While the team has announced tentative plans to activate injured starting pitcher Ranger Suárez sometime next weekend, it has been reported that the return of recently signed outfielder Austin Hays from the 10-day IL will take a little longer than the team initially expected.

Hays and the Phillies training staff have been dealing with a mild left hamstring strain he suffered in a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Aug. 7. When the corner outfielder was first placed on the injured list, they were initially optimistic that he would only need at least 10 days of rest and rehab.

Because the injury was similar in severity to the hamstring injury that sidelined Brandon Marsh in June, it was expected that Hays would be back on the field in the same time frame. We have since learned that Hays will not be playing on August 18 as originally planned.

Standing in the stands with Tom McCarthy and John Kruk of NBC Sports Philadelphia on Thursday night, the two asked Hays for an update on the status of his injury. Hays seemed confident that his hamstring is finally responding well to an increase in baseball activity.

“I’m feeling really good,” Hays said. “I’m doing a little baseball. I went back today and threw to about 200 feet and left a few of them. I did all my normal cage exercises today and the hamstring feels good. I was able to run today. We did a couple of sprints and I felt like I turned the corner yesterday and now I just need to get the strength back and be ready to go.”

Hays admitted he wasn’t entirely sure how his body would respond to the treatment and was initially hesitant to push himself too hard and aggravate the injury. Hays described the process as mentally challenging at first, but he has recently become more comfortable as he gets used to more intense work on the field and in the cage.

“When you move the first few times, do some swings and jog for the first time, I think your mind plays a few tricks on you,” Hays added. “You want it to feel good, but you’re not sure you can train as hard as you’re trying to. Yesterday I was able to push it a little bit and not feel anything, so that gave me some confidence.”

Hays will likely return sometime next week, and the Phillies will have decisions to make as rookie Weston Wilson swings a great bat and fills in capably in left field during Hays’ absence. How this will affect the playing time of Brandon Marsh and Johan Rojas remains to be seen, but the team seems to have finally found a group of outfielders who can provide enough offensive and defensive potential to keep the team balanced in the field and at the batting crease for the rest of the season.