# 1978 Philadelphia Phillies season

The 1978 Philadelphia Phillies season was the 96th season in the history of the franchise. The Phillies won their third straight National League East title with a record of 90–72, a game and a half over the Pittsburgh Pirates, as the Phillies defeated the Pirates in Pittsburgh on the next to last day of the season. For the third consecutive season the Phillies came up short in the NLCS, as the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated them three games to one, as they had the previous season. The Phillies were managed by Danny Ozark and played their home games at Veterans Stadium.

## Offseason

* March 7, 1978: George Bell was signed as an amateur free agent by the Phillies.
* March 24, 1978: Fred Andrews was traded by the Phillies to the New York Mets for Bud Harrelson.

## Regular season
### Season standings

vteNL East :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 90 | 72 | .556 | — | 54‍–‍28 | 36‍–‍44 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 88 | 73 | .547 | 1½ | 55‍–‍26 | 33‍–‍47 |
| Chicago Cubs | 79 | 83 | .488 | 11 | 44‍–‍38 | 35‍–‍45 |
| Montreal Expos | 76 | 86 | .469 | 14 | 41‍–‍39 | 35‍–‍47 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 69 | 93 | .426 | 21 | 37‍–‍44 | 32‍–‍49 |
| New York Mets | 66 | 96 | .407 | 24 | 33‍–‍47 | 33‍–‍49 |

### Record vs. opponents

1978 National League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | ATL | CHC | CIN | HOU | LAD | MON | NYM | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | STL |
| Atlanta | — | 5–7 | 6–12 | 8–10 | 5–13 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 2–10 | 8–10 | 11–7 | 5–7 |
| Chicago | 7–5 | — | 7–5 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 7–11 | 11–7 | 4–14 | 7–11 | 7–5 | 4–8 | 15–3 |
| Cincinnati | 12–6 | 5–7 | — | 11–7 | 9–9 | 8–4 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 4–7 | 9–9 | 12–6 | 8–4 |
| Houston | 10–8 | 6–6 | 7–11 | — | 7–11 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 8–10 | 6–12 | 7–5 |
| Los Angeles | 13–5 | 8–4 | 9–9 | 11–7 | — | 8–4 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 9–9 | 11–7 | 5–7 |
| Montreal | 7–5 | 11–7 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 4–8 | — | 8–10 | 9–9 | 7–11 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 9–9 |
| New York | 6–6 | 7–11 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 10–8 | — | 6–12 | 7–11 | 5–7 | 3–9 | 7–11 |
| Philadelphia | 4-8 | 14–4 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 9–9 | 12–6 | — | 11–7 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 10–8 |
| Pittsburgh | 10–2 | 11–7 | 7–4 | 8–4 | 5–7 | 11–7 | 11–7 | 7–11 | — | 5–7 | 4–8 | 9–9 |
| San Diego | 10–8 | 5–7 | 9–9 | 10–8 | 9–9 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 4–8 | 7–5 | — | 8–10 | 9–3 |
| San Francisco | 7–11 | 8–4 | 6–12 | 12–6 | 7–11 | 7–5 | 9–3 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 10–8 | — | 9–3 |
| St. Louis | 7–5 | 3–15 | 4–8 | 5–7 | 7–5 | 9–9 | 11–7 | 8–10 | 9–9 | 3–9 | 3–9 | — |

### Notable transactions

* April 23, 1978: Julio Franco was signed by the Phillies as an amateur free agent.
* June 14, 1978: Bobby Brown and Jay Johnstone were traded by the Phillies to the New York Yankees for Rawly Eastwick.
* June 30, 1978: Carmen Castillo was signed by the Phillies as an amateur free agent.
* September 2, 1978: Dan Warthen was traded by the Phillies to the Houston Astros for Dan Larson.
* September 14, 1978: Horacio Piña was purchased by the Phillies from the Rieleros de Aguascalientes.

#### Draft picks

* June 6, 1978: 1978 Major League Baseball draft
** Ed Hearn was drafted by the Phillies in the 4th round.
** Ryne Sandberg was drafted by the Phillies in the 20th round. Player signed June 15, 1978.
** Rick Leach was drafted by the Phillies in the 24th round, but did not sign.

### Phillie Phanatic

The Phillie Phanatic debuted on April 25, 1978, at The Vet when the Phils played the Chicago Cubs. Tim McCarver introduced the Phanatic on the "Captain Noah and His Magical Ark" show on WPVI-TV in his role promoting the team. The Phanatic was originally portrayed by Dave Raymond.

### Game log

1978 Game Log (Overall Record: 90–72) :
April (10–7)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
1April 7Cardinals1–5Bob Forsch (1–0)Steve Carlton (0–1)None47,7910–1
2April 8Cardinals7–0Larry Christenson (1–0)Eric Rasmussen (0–1)None24,4411–1
3April 9Cardinals12–3Randy Lerch (1–0)John Urrea (0–1)None35,1042–1
–April 11ExposPostponed (rain); Makeup: September 26 as a traditional double-header
4April 12Expos7–8Steve Rogers (1–1)Jim Lonborg (0–1)Bill Atkinson (1)19,1102–2
5April 14@ Cardinals4–3Steve Carlton (1–1)Pete Vuckovich (0–1)Tug McGraw (1)17,9213–2
6April 15@ Cardinals3–2 (10)Tug McGraw (1–0)Pete Vuckovich (0–2)None13,8444–2
7April 16@ Cardinals0–5Bob Forsch (3–0)Randy Lerch (1–1)None11,4954–3
8April 17@ Pirates6–2Jim Lonborg (1–1)John Candelaria (1–2)None7,3435–3
–April 18@ PiratesPostponed (rain); Makeup: August 4 as a traditional double-header
–April 21@ ExposPostponed (rain); Makeup: April 22 as a traditional double-header
9April 22 (1)@ Expos3–7Wayne Twitchell (1–1)Steve Carlton (1–2)Stan Bahnsen (1)see 2nd game5–4
10April 22 (2)@ Expos3–5Ross Grimsley (3–0)Larry Christenson (1–1)Stan Bahnsen (2)19,2375–5
11April 23@ Expos2–5Steve Rogers (2–2)Jim Lonborg (1–2)Darold Knowles (1)17,9225–6
12April 24Cubs12–2Randy Lerch (2–1)Woodie Fryman (0–1)None20,1156–6
13April 25Cubs7–0Jim Kaat (1–0)Dennis Lamp (1–3)None17,2277–6
14April 26Cubs2–4Rick Reuschel (3–2)Steve Carlton (1–3)Bruce Sutter (3)17,2997–7
15April 28Padres3–2Larry Christenson (2–1)Bob Owchinko (1–2)Ron Reed (1)26,8728–7
16April 29Padres7–2Jim Lonborg (2–2)Dave Freisleben (0–2)None28,3909–7
17April 30Padres11–4Randy Lerch (3–1)Randy Jones (1–2)None31,10110–7 :
May (12–14)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
18May 1@ Reds12–1Steve Carlton (2–3)Tom Seaver (0–3)None21,47611–7
19May 3@ Reds3–12Fred Norman (4–0)Larry Christenson (2–2)None26,05411–8
20May 5Mets9–4Jim Lonborg (3–2)Nino Espinosa (1–2)Tug McGraw (2)22,11612–8
21May 6Mets7–2Steve Carlton (3–3)Pat Zachry (3–1)None22,25013–8
22May 7Mets8–5Gene Garber (1–0)Craig Swan (1–2)Tug McGraw (3)39,10614–8
–May 8AstrosPostponed (rain); Makeup: July 21 as a traditional double-header
23May 9Astros1–5J. R. Richard (2–3)Larry Christenson (2–3)None18,14414–9
24May 10Astros3–1Jim Lonborg (4–2)Mark Lemongello (2–4)None20,09615–9
25May 11Reds4–1Steve Carlton (4–3)Tom Seaver (1–4)None32,58016–9
26May 12Reds0–3Bill Bonham (4–0)Randy Lerch (3–2)Paul Moskau (1)38,17916–10
27May 13Reds3–4Manny Sarmiento (3–1)Tug McGraw (1–1)None35,80216–11
28May 14Reds7–4Larry Christenson (3–3)Tom Hume (2–5)Ron Reed (2)30,48217–11
29May 15@ Astros0–5J. R. Richard (3–3)Jim Lonborg (4–3)None9,94317–12
30May 16@ Astros1–6Mark Lemongello (3–4)Steve Carlton (4–4)None11,38117–13
31May 17@ Astros1–2Joaquín Andújar (3–2)Randy Lerch (3–3)Tom Dixon (1)11,85617–14
32May 18@ Astros8–5Gene Garber (2–0)Joe Sambito (2–1)None10,82818–14
33May 19@ Mets3–4Skip Lockwood (3–3)Tug McGraw (1–2)None13,18118–15
34May 20@ Mets9–4 (11)Tug McGraw (2–2)Dale Murray (1–2)None14,11019–15
35May 21@ Mets5–6 (10)Skip Lockwood (4–3)Tug McGraw (2–3)None18,18319–16
–May 23@ CubsPostponed (rain); Makeup: June 30 as a traditional double-header
36May 24@ Cubs4–6 (10)Bruce Sutter (4–2)Gene Garber (2–1)None17,90119–17
37May 25@ Cubs1–5Rick Reuschel (5–3)Steve Carlton (4–5)Bruce Sutter (6)19,78819–18
38May 26@ Braves2–4Phil Niekro (5–6)Randy Lerch (3–4)None16,63819–19
39May 27@ Braves6–5Tug McGraw (3–3)Rick Camp (0–2)Gene Garber (1)15,08120–19
40May 28@ Braves3–5Preston Hanna (4–0)Larry Christenson (3–4)Jamie Easterly (1)22,23320–20
41May 29Pirates4–3 (14)Warren Brusstar (1–0)Dave Hamilton (0–1)None34,35321–20
42May 30Pirates6–1Steve Carlton (5–5)Bert Blyleven (3–5)None26,12322–20
43May 31Pirates1–2John Candelaria (5–6)Randy Lerch (3–5)Kent Tekulve (5)29,59522–21 :
June (18–10)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
44June 2Dodgers4–2Jim Lonborg (5–3)Burt Hooton (4–5)Gene Garber (2)42,34723–21
45June 3Dodgers5–1Tug McGraw (4–3)Terry Forster (1–1)None31,44224–21
46June 4Dodgers9–4Jim Kaat (2–0)Tommy John (7–3)None42,06625–21
47June 5Giants4–3Steve Carlton (6–5)Vida Blue (6–4)Ron Reed (3)37,68426–21
48June 6Giants7–6Tug McGraw (5–3)Gary Lavelle (4–4)None28,09327–21
49June 7Giants5–4Tug McGraw (6–3)Randy Moffitt (5–2)None20,70828–21
50June 9Braves6–1Larry Christenson (4–4)Eddie Solomon (1–4)None40,27229–21
51June 10Braves6–2Jim Kaat (3–0)Dick Ruthven (2–6)Gene Garber (3)33,29230–21
52June 11Braves0–4Phil Niekro (7–6)Steve Carlton (6–6)None58,36730–22
53June 12@ Dodgers5–6Burt Hooton (5–5)Jim Lonborg (5–4)Lance Rautzhan (1)26,60430–23
54June 13@ Dodgers3–5Don Sutton (5–6)Randy Lerch (3–6)None41,25730–24
55June 14@ Giants1–2Vida Blue (8–4)Larry Christenson (4–5)Randy Moffitt (4)13,90230–25
56June 15@ Giants1–6John Montefusco (6–2)Jim Kaat (3–1)None14,75430–26
57June 16@ Padres5–0Steve Carlton (7–6)Randy Jones (5–5)None21,12431–26
58June 17@ Padres0–7Bob Owchinko (4–6)Jim Lonborg (5–5)None27,31931–27
59June 18@ Padres1–4Gaylord Perry (7–2)Dick Ruthven (2–7)Rollie Fingers (15)21,19531–28
60June 20Cardinals2–4Bob Forsch (8–6)Larry Christenson (4–6)Mark Littell (2)30,11931–29
–June 21CardinalsPostponed (rain); Makeup: September 8 as a traditional double-header
61June 22Cardinals2–1Steve Carlton (8–6)John Denny (6–6)None29,18332–29
62June 23 (1)Cubs6–1Dick Ruthven (3–7)Dave Roberts (3–2)Nonesee 2nd game33–29
63June 23 (2)Cubs6–1Jim Lonborg (6–5)Dennis Lamp (2–8)None45,23434–29
64June 24Cubs6–2Jim Kaat (4–1)Ken Holtzman (1–2)Ron Reed (4)41,60535–29
65June 25Cubs4–2Larry Christenson (5–6)Rick Reuschel (8–5)None36,07536–29
66June 26@ Expos1–5Steve Rogers (9–7)Steve Carlton (8–7)None19,48736–30
67June 27@ Expos1–0Dick Ruthven (4–7)Hal Dues (1–4)None36,88537–30
68June 28@ Expos7–5Jim Lonborg (7–5)Mike Garman (0–3)Tug McGraw (4)35,18238–30
69June 29@ Cubs9–3Jim Kaat (5–1)Dave Roberts (3–3)Tug McGraw (5)25,66939–30
70June 30 (1)@ Cubs0–2Mike Krukow (1–0)Larry Christenson (5–7)Nonesee 2nd game39–31
71June 30 (2)@ Cubs6–5Tug McGraw (7–3)Bruce Sutter (5–3)None29,52540–31 :
July (15–14)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
72July 1@ Cubs2–1Randy Lerch (4–6)Dennis Lamp (2–10)Ron Reed (5)26,04241–31
73July 2@ Cubs6–5Dick Ruthven (5–7)Ken Holtzman (1–3)Tug McGraw (6)25,93442–31
–July 3@ MetsPostponed (rain); Makeup: July 5
74July 4 (1)@ Mets0–4Pat Zachry (10–3)Larry Christenson (5–8)Nonesee 2nd game42–32
75July 4 (2)@ Mets3–2Rawly Eastwick (3–1)Craig Swan (1–5)Ron Reed (6)10,41043–32
76July 5@ Mets7–5Warren Brusstar (2–0)Jerry Koosman (2–9)Tug McGraw (7)8,66744–32
77July 6Expos7–6Rawly Eastwick (4–1)Ross Grimsley (11–6)None50,14945–32
78July 7Expos4–7Steve Rogers (11–7)Dick Ruthven (5–8)Mike Garman (6)45,19345–33
79July 8 (1)Expos6–3Larry Christenson (6–8)Woodie Fryman (3–7)Ron Reed (7)see 2nd game46–33
80July 8 (2)Expos1–8Hal Dues (3–4)Jim Lonborg (7–6)None50,09846–34
81July 9Expos8–7Tug McGraw (8–3)Darold Knowles (2–2)None40,94947–34
–July 111978 Major League Baseball All-Star Game at San Diego Stadium in San Diego
82July 14@ Braves2–7Phil Niekro (10–9)Steve Carlton (8–8)None17,46447–35
83July 15@ Braves2–3Rick Camp (2–2)Jim Kaat (5–2)Gene Garber (12)N/A47–36
84July 16@ Braves4–2Dick Ruthven (6–8)Preston Hanna (7–6)Ron Reed (8)20,73448–36
85July 17@ Astros1–2 (11)Joe Niekro (6–7)Rawly Eastwick (4–2)None14,39748–37
86July 18@ Astros1–9J. R. Richard (9–9)Jim Lonborg (7–7)None15,47848–38
87July 19Reds2–7Dave Tomlin (6–1)Steve Carlton (8–9)Doug Bair (16)45,60848–39
88July 20Reds8–6Warren Brusstar (3–0)Manny Sarmiento (7–6)Tug McGraw (8)44,05449–39
89July 21 (1)Astros6–1Dick Ruthven (7–8)Joe Niekro (6–8)Nonesee 2nd game50–39
90July 21 (2)Astros8–2Larry Christenson (7–8)Rick Williams (1–2)None35,38951–39
91July 22Astros3–2 (10)Ron Reed (1–0)Ken Forsch (4–4)None33,67252–39
92July 23Astros13–2Steve Carlton (9–9)Tom Dixon (5–7)None30,55453–39
93July 24Braves1–5Eddie Solomon (3–4)Jim Lonborg (7–8)Craig Skok (2)30,18453–40
94July 25Braves0–4Tommy Boggs (2–5)Larry Christenson (7–9)None25,95453–41
95July 26Braves2–4Phil Niekro (12–10)Jim Kaat (5–3)None50,21853–42
96July 28 (1)@ Reds12–2Randy Lerch (5–6)Fred Norman (9–6)Nonesee 2nd game54–42
97July 28 (2)@ Reds1–2Tom Seaver (10–9)Steve Carlton (9–10)Doug Bair (18)51,77954–43
98July 29@ Reds2–6Paul Moskau (2–2)Jim Lonborg (7–9)None49,10854–44
99July 30@ Reds3–5Tom Hume (5–10)Larry Christenson (7–10)Doug Bair (19)44,09254–45
100July 31Mets6–1Dick Ruthven (8–8)Nino Espinosa (9–9)None21,13355–45 :
August (16–14)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
101August 1Mets1–5Kevin Kobel (2–2)Steve Carlton (9–11)None31,08555–46
102August 2Mets8–6Randy Lerch (6–6)Jerry Koosman (3–12)Tug McGraw (9)32,38256–46
103August 4 (1)@ Pirates2–0Larry Christenson (8–10)Jim Rooker (6–8)Nonesee 2nd game57–46
104August 4 (2)@ Pirates2–5Don Robinson (6–5)Jim Kaat (5–4)None30,86557–47
–August 5@ PiratesPostponed (rain); Makeup: September 29 as a traditional double-header
105August 6 (1)@ Pirates3–2Dick Ruthven (9–8)Bert Blyleven (9–7)Nonesee 2nd game58–47
106August 6 (2)@ Pirates5–0Steve Carlton (10–11)Jim Bibby (6–6)None31,14159–47
107August 7@ Cardinals3–6Aurelio López (1–1)Randy Lerch (6–7)Mark Littell (6)18,67159–48
108August 8 (1)@ Cardinals0–2Pete Vuckovich (9–9)Larry Christenson (8–11)Nonesee 2nd game59–49
109August 8 (2)@ Cardinals2–6Tom Bruno (2–0)Jim Lonborg (7–10)None26,88059–50
110August 9@ Cardinals6–3Jim Kaat (6–4)Bob Forsch (9–13)Ron Reed (9)16,17260–50
111August 10Pirates3–1Dick Ruthven (10–8)Bert Blyleven (9–8)None34,67261–50
112August 11Pirates15–4Steve Carlton (11–11)Bruce Kison (3–4)None35,10162–50
113August 12Pirates10–1Randy Lerch (7–7)Jim Bibby (6–7)None30,11063–50
114August 13Pirates3–7Don Robinson (8–5)Larry Christenson (8–12)None38,11963–51
115August 15Dodgers4–5Doug Rau (12–7)Dick Ruthven (10–9)Lance Rautzhan (4)38,38663–52
116August 16Dodgers2–5Bob Welch (5–0)Jim Kaat (6–5)None37,66063–53
117August 17Dodgers2–5Burt Hooton (13–8)Tug McGraw (8–4)Terry Forster (15)36,32563–54
118August 18Giants5–6Gary Lavelle (10–9)Tug McGraw (8–5)None36,55463–55
119August 19Giants3–0Steve Carlton (12–11)John Montefusco (9–5)None54,28864–55
120August 20Giants5–3Dick Ruthven (11–9)Jim Barr (6–10)Ron Reed (10)51,08865–55
121August 21Padres3–7Gaylord Perry (15–5)Warren Brusstar (3–1)Bob Shirley (4)27,12465–56
122August 22Padres5–3Larry Christenson (9–12)Eric Rasmussen (12–10)Ron Reed (11)36,33966–56
123August 23Padres5–6Rollie Fingers (5–11)Ron Reed (1–1)None31,03266–57
124August 24@ Dodgers4–5Tommy John (15–9)Warren Brusstar (3–2)Charlie Hough (7)49,06466–58
125August 25@ Dodgers5–6Lance Rautzhan (2–0)Ron Reed (1–2)None46,54866–59
126August 26@ Dodgers3–1Randy Lerch (8–7)Doug Rau (12–8)None50,19467–59
127August 27@ Dodgers9–3Larry Christenson (10–12)Bob Welch (5–2)None43,06568–59
128August 28@ Padres6–1Jim Kaat (7–5)Randy Jones (11–12)None33,76869–59
129August 29@ Padres9–5Dick Ruthven (12–9)Bob Owchinko (8–11)None13,56870–59
130August 30@ Padres6–5Warren Brusstar (4–2)Rollie Fingers (5–12)None15,94171–59 :
September (19–12)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
131September 1@ Giants3–4Gary Lavelle (11–9)Steve Carlton (12–12)None16,41371–60
132September 2@ Giants3–1 (10)Larry Christenson (11–12)Gary Lavelle (11–10)None27,45772–60
133September 3 (1)@ Giants1–4Bob Knepper (15–9)Dick Ruthven (12–10)Nonesee 2nd game72–61
134September 3 (2)@ Giants2–3John Montefusco (10–6)Warren Brusstar (4–3)John Curtis (1)39,59672–62
135September 4 (1)@ Cardinals2–3Bob Forsch (11–15)Randy Lerch (8–8)Mark Littell (9)see 2nd game72–63
136September 4 (2)@ Cardinals10–2Jim Lonborg (8–10)Silvio Martínez (8–8)None19,01573–63
137September 6@ Cubs8–1Steve Carlton (13–12)Rick Reuschel (13–12)None14,26974–63
138September 7@ Cubs5–3Warren Brusstar (5–3)Donnie Moore (9–7)Ron Reed (12)11,42775–63
139September 8 (1)Cardinals1–0Dick Ruthven (13–10)Tom Bruno (4–2)Nonesee 2nd game76–63
140September 8 (2)Cardinals2–1Ron Reed (2–2)Dan O'Brien (0–1)None35,16077–63
141September 9Cardinals6–3Randy Lerch (9–8)Bob Forsch (11–16)None35,82478–63
142September 10Cardinals6–8 (10)Mark Littell (2–8)Ron Reed (2–3)Buddy Schultz (6)33,10678–64
143September 11Pirates10–3Steve Carlton (14–12)Don Robinson (12–6)None33,19879–64
144September 12Pirates1–5John Candelaria (11–11)Larry Christenson (11–13)Kent Tekulve (29)31,35579–65
145September 13Cubs6–2Dick Ruthven (14–10)Ray Burris (5–12)None30,11480–65
146September 14Cubs11–5Warren Brusstar (6–3)Rick Reuschel (14–13)Ron Reed (13)20,03781–65
147September 15Mets4–5 (10)Dale Murray (9–5)Tug McGraw (8–6)None29,25781–66
148September 16Mets2–1 (10)Steve Carlton (15–12)Dwight Bernard (1–2)None44,30782–66
149September 17Mets0–2Mike Bruhert (4–9)Larry Christenson (11–14)None35,30182–67
150September 19@ Expos2–5Scott Sanderson (3–2)Dick Ruthven (14–11)Mike Garman (13)9,42982–68
151September 20@ Expos4–2Randy Lerch (10–8)Dan Schatzeder (7–6)Ron Reed (14)9,29883–68
–September 21@ ExposPostponed (rain); Makeup: September 25 in Philadelphia
–September 22@ MetsPostponed (rain); Makeup: September 23 as a traditional double-header
152September 23 (1)@ Mets1–0Larry Christenson (12–14)Mike Bruhert (4–10)Nonesee 2nd game84–68
153September 23 (2)@ Mets6–3Dick Ruthven (15–11)Dwight Bernard (1–3)None9,69485–68
154September 24@ Mets8–2Steve Carlton (16–12)Nino Espinosa (10–15)None25,47386–68
155September 25Expos3–2 (12)Ron Reed (3–3)Stan Bahnsen (1–5)None11,65187–68
156September 26 (1)Expos5–3Jim Kaat (8–5)David Palmer (0–1)Ron Reed (15)see 2nd game88–68
157September 26 (2)Expos0–3Rudy May (8–10)Tug McGraw (8–7)None29,50688–69
158September 27Expos5–4Larry Christenson (13–14)Ross Grimsley (19–11)Ron Reed (16)27,41089–69
159September 29 (1)@ Pirates4–5Kent Tekulve (7–7)Ron Reed (3–4)Nonesee 2nd game89–70
160September 29 (2)@ Pirates1–2Kent Tekulve (8–7)Steve Carlton (16–13)None45,13489–71
161September 30@ Pirates10–8Randy Lerch (11–8)Grant Jackson (7–5)Ron Reed (17)28,90590–71 :
October (0–1)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
162October 1@ Pirates3–5Odell Jones (2–0)Kevin Saucier (0–1)Kent Tekulve (31)30,22490–72 :
The May 18, 1978, game was protested by the Phillies in the top of the seventh inning. The protest was later denied.
The attendance for the July 15, 1978, game at Atlanta was not available on the baseball-reference.com website and was omitted from Associated Press box scores. :
Phillies win  Phillies loss  PostponementBold: Phillies team member Source: :

### Roster
## Player stats

* = Indicates team leader

### Batting
#### Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
| C | Bob Boone | 132 | 435 | 123 | .283 | 12 | 62 |
| 1B | Richie Hebner | 137 | 435 | 123 | .283 | 17 | 71 |
| 2B | Ted Sizemore | 108 | 351 | 77 | .219 | 0 | 25 |
| 3B | Mike Schmidt | 145 | 513 | 129 | .251 | 21 | 78 |
| SS | Larry Bowa | 156 | 654 | 192 | .294 | 3 | 43 |
| LF | Greg Luzinski | 155 | 540 | 143 | .265 | 35 | 101 |
| CF | Garry Maddox | 155 | 598 | 172 | .288 | 11 | 68 |
| RF | Bake McBride | 122 | 472 | 127 | .269 | 10 | 49 |

#### Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
| Jerry Martin | 128 | 266 | 72 | .271 | 9 | 36 |
| José Cardenal | 87 | 201 | 50 | .249 | 4 | 33 |
| Tim McCarver | 90 | 146 | 36 | .247 | 1 | 14 |
| Jim Morrison | 53 | 108 | 17 | .157 | 3 | 10 |
| Bud Harrelson | 71 | 103 | 22 | .214 | 0 | 9 |
| Davey Johnson | 44 | 89 | 17 | .191 | 2 | 14 |
| Barry Foote | 39 | 57 | 9 | .158 | 1 | 4 |
| Jay Johnstone | 35 | 56 | 10 | .179 | 0 | 4 |
| Orlando González | 26 | 26 | 5 | .192 | 0 | 0 |
| Kerry Dineen | 5 | 8 | 2 | .250 | 0 | 0 |
| Pete Mackanin | 5 | 8 | 2 | .250 | 0 | 1 |
| Lonnie Smith | 17 | 4 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Todd Cruz | 3 | 4 | 2 | .500 | 0 | 2 |
| Keith Moreland | 1 | 2 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |

### Pitching
#### Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
| Steve Carlton | 34 | 247.1 | 16 | 13 | 2.84 | 161 |
| Larry Christenson | 33 | 228.0 | 13 | 14 | 3.24 | 131 |
| Randy Lerch | 33 | 184.0 | 11 | 8 | 3.96 | 96 |
| Dick Ruthven | 20 | 150.2 | 13 | 5 | 2.99 | 75 |
| Jim Kaat | 26 | 140.1 | 8 | 5 | 4.10 | 48 |
| Jim Lonborg | 22 | 113.2 | 8 | 10 | 5.23 | 48 |

#### Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
| Ron Reed | 66 | 3 | 4 | 17 | 2.24 | 85 |
| Warren Brusstar | 58 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 2.33 | 60 |
| Tug McGraw | 55 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 3.21 | 63 |
| Rawly Eastwick | 22 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4.02 | 14 |
| Gene Garber | 22 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1.40 | 24 |
| Horacio Piña | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 4 |
| Dan Boitano | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 |
| Dan Larson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.00 | 2 |
| Kevin Saucier | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 18.00 | 2 |

## 1978 National League Championship Series

The Los Angeles Dodgers win the Series, 3 games to 1, over the Phillies.
| Game | Score | Date | Location | Attendance |
| 1 | Los Angeles – 9, Philadelphia – 5 | October 4 | Veterans Stadium | 63,460 |
| 2 | Los Angeles – 4, Philadelphia – 0 | October 5 | Veterans Stadium | 60,642 |
| 3 | Philadelphia – 9, Los Angeles – 4 | October 6 | Dodger Stadium | 55,043 |
| 4 | Philadelphia – 3, Los Angeles – 4 | October 7 | Dodger Stadium | 55,124 |

### Postseason game log

1978 Postseason Game Log (Overall Record: 1–3) :
National League Championship Series (1–3)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
1October 4Dodgers5–9Bob Welch (1–0)Larry Christenson (0–1)None63,4600–1
2October 5Dodgers0–4Tommy John (1–0)Dick Ruthven (0–1)None60,6420–2
3October 6@ Dodgers9–4Steve Carlton (1–0)Don Sutton (0–1)None55,0431–2
4October 7@ Dodgers3–4 (10)Terry Forster (1–0)Tug McGraw (0–1)None55,1241–3 :
Phillies win  Phillies loss  PostponementBold: Phillies team member Source: :

## Awards and honors

* Greg Luzinski, Roberto Clemente Award

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Oklahoma City 89ers | American Association | Mike Ryan |
| AA | Reading Phillies | Eastern League | Lee Elia |
| A | Peninsula Pilots | Carolina League | Jim Snyder |
| A | Spartanburg Phillies | Western Carolinas League | Ron Clark |
| Rookie | Helena Phillies | Pioneer League | Larry Rojas |