The Philadelphia Phillies' epic winning streak may be over, but the vibes remain immaculate. They swept both the Marlins and Cardinals during that nine-game stretch stretch, vaulting themselves ahead of the competition in the NL Wild Card race.
But you may have noticed something a little odd during that series against St. Louis: the Cards were playing shorthanded. Shortstop Masyn Winn fractured his thumb on Aug. 21, the first game of the three-game set. He then sat on the bench for a few days with no chance of playing... and has only now been placed on the injured list, allowing the Cardinals to call up Nolan Gorman.
It's not like Gorman is a world-beater -- he's hitting below the Mendoza Line with a 67 wRC+ this season -- but a 26-man roster is usually better than a 25-man one. Whatever the Cardinals' reasoning was for this bizarre decision, the Phillies are surely happy to have reaped the benefits.
The Cardinals, 2.5 games out of the Wild Card in mid August, decided to play shorthanded against the Phillies. They were swept. Now they decided to put Winn on the IL and call up Gorman.
— Prez Chaim Bloom (parodeez) (@PrezChaimBloom) August 25, 2026
Like Mo never left.
Phillies created more than just a big lead in the standings with their recent winning streak and Cardinals series
Sweeping the Cardinals should prove massively important down the stretch; not only did the Phillies expand their lead for the second Wild Card, but they took over the season series, winning it 4-2. That means they now have the head-to-head tiebreaker for seeding purposes, should the Redbirds make things interesting in September.
Save for the Cubs (1-6), who remain locked into the top Wild Card spot, that's actually true of everyone else in the race. Against the Padres (6-0), Marlins (8-5), and Pirates (5-2), Philly has taken care of business this year. This all sets the stage for their final series against the Diamondbacks at the end of this month, as the Phillies will need to win that four-game series in order win the tiebreaker (they went 1-2 against the D-Backs in April).
Obviously, head-to-head records only matter if teams end up tied in the standings at the end of the regular season, and Don Mattingly's squad has a multi-game lead on every squad they already hold the advantage over. Still, it's nice reassurance to have. There's a reason the vibes are, as I said, immaculate.
The bigger goal remains catching the Braves atop the NL East, which is now possible thanks to the recent winning streak. There's a stretch of seven games in 10 days coming up against them in September, though, so that's a bridge we'll cross when we get to it.
For now, with a little help from some questionable roster management, the Phillies are in prime position to make the playoffs as the NL's No. 5 seed.
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