It wasn't a weekend of pretty baseball, that's for sure. Not just for the Philadelphia Phillies, who took a surprising series loss against the Colorado Rockies, but for most of the other contenders in the National League.
After rolling through most of May, the Phillies will be glad they don't have to play in Colorado again this season. After a strange 3-2 extra-innings loss on Friday, which we should note came without Bryce Harper following his first-inning ejection, things got weirder on Saturday and Sunday.
The Phillies bats remained quiet for eight innings on Saturday, managing just two runs again. That is until a six-run ninth-inning explosion in the eventual 8-4 win. They looked more like the Phillies team we have been used to watching this season.
But then Sunday happened. Again, the Phillies bats were stymied. Held to two runs, they didn't have a magical comeback in them, losing 5-2. They likely didn't waste any time getting out of dodge.
The answer? It's baseball, as manager Rob Thomson exclaimed on Friday, and echoed by outfielder Brandon Marsh on Sunday, according to MLB.com's Manny Randhawa.
“Just a little bit weird, right?” Thomson said after Sunday’s loss, per Randhawa. “You come in here and you think that because of the thin air you’re going to score a bunch of runs and hit home runs. We didn’t have any slug today. It’s just one of those days. One of those weekends, I guess.”
Phillies somehow had a better weekend than the other NL contenders
Sure, the Phillies had one of those weekends but they still sit atop the majors with a 38-16 record. And, they didn't even have the worst weekend among the NL contending teams.
The NL East rival Atlanta Braves won on Sunday, avoiding a sweep at the hands of the Pittsburgh Pirates, but lost something much more valuable. Ronald Acuña Jr. suffered a left knee injury and exited the game. It was later announced the superstar has a full ACL tear and is done for the season.
OF Ronald Acuña Jr. tonight underwent an MRI that revealed a complete tear of the ACL in his left knee. He is set to undergo surgery at a date yet to be determined and will miss the remainder of the 2024 season.
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) May 27, 2024
Talk about a season-altering injury. This comes after the Braves also lost Spencer Strider to elbow surgery earlier in the campaign. The Phillies are up 6.0 games in the division and have a real chance to take a stranglehold in the NL East now.
The team closest to the Phillies in the National League, the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers entered the weekend 33-19. They finished the weekend 33-22, getting swept by the Cincinnati Reds. It's their second consecutive series loss after dropping 2-of-3 to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Despite the recent hiccup, it's safe to assume the Dodgers will be alright.
Over in the NL Central, the Chicago Cubs were swept by the St. Louis Cardinals. Losers of four in a row, they now sit 3.5 games behind the division-leading Milwaukee Brewers. The Brew Crew was the only NL division leader to win their weekend series, taking 2-of-3 against the Boston Red Sox, although they lost the series finale on Sunday.
As for the Phillies, they'll look to get back in the win column in San Francisco on Memorial Day Monday as they open a three-game series against the Giants at Oracle Park.