Phillies learn valuable lessons from a tough series in L.A.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 02: Joc Pederson #31 of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrates his two run homerun with Russell Martin #55, in front of J.T. Realmuto #10 of the Philadelphia Phillies, for a 8-0 during the eighth inning at Dodger Stadium on June 02, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 02: Yacksel Rios #53 of the Philadelphia Phillies reacts to his throwing error on a bunt single from Chris Taylor #3 of the Los Angeles Dodgers, allowing two runs to score, to trail 6-0 during the eighth inning at Dodger Stadium on June 02, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

The Phillies aren’t World Series Contenders

Let’s be real; this team is good, probably good enough to win the N.L. East, but I don’t think they’ll have much success in October.

This series showed the National League pecking order; the Dodgers are alone at the top, the Phillies, Cubs, Brewers and maybe the Braves are a step below, and the gap is significant. The Phillies have shown they can beat Chicago, Milwaukee, and Atlanta, but they’ve fallen flat against Los Angeles.

More from That Balls Outta Here

True, the Phillies played L.A. tight except the eighth inning Sunday, but they still lost all three. A genuine contender would have found a way to salvage at least one of those games.

The good news is, it’s still June, and the Phillies have time to become a real contender. It feels like this team is one move away from really making some noise in the postseason. If they acquire a top-flight lefty starter at the deadline, get their bullpen healthy, and figure out how to consistently get the most out of their offense, this team can play deep into October.

Ricky Bottalico had a good quote on this past series with the Dodgers:

"“If you wanna go to the World Series, you have to beat a team like [the Dodgers]” he said. “Which means you just had your measuring stick, what did you think? Now go and make the team better! Beat that team!”"

dark. Next. How many draft picks do the Phillies have?

Hopefully, the team can take this sweep at the hands of the Dodgers and use it to recalibrate and improve moving forward.