How worried should Phillies be about Braves' recent run?
The Braves are hot heading into a huge four-game series against the Phillies — a series that could decide which team takes home the division crown.
The Major League Baseball regular season is coming to an end. The top record in the National League and the NL East is a tight race heading into the final month of the season.
The Philadelphia Phillies fell 0.5 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers for the best record in all of baseball after their loss to the Houston Astros on Wednesday. They sit 5.0 games ahead of the Atlanta Braves for first place in the division.
How worried should Phillies be about Braves' recent run?
The Phillies fell into a month-long slump to start the second half of the season after winning 62 games before the All-Star break. People around baseball began to question if this Phillies team was legit.
The Phillies had a larger lead in the NL East before the slump. The Braves were able to make up some ground on their rivals, despite key injuries to their star players all season.
The Braves lost superstar outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. and starting pitcher Spencer Strider due to season-ending injuries at the beginning of the year. Reliever A.J. Minter and third baseman Austin Riley are also out for the remainder of the regular season. Second baseman Ozzie Albies has missed some time with a wrist injury and isn’t expected back until mid-September.
Normally, it’s tough for a team to overcome injuries to their star players, especially the number of injuries the Braves had to deal with this season. Brian Snitker’s team keeps winning against all odds, and the Braves haven’t made it easy on the Phillies to run away with the division title.
The Braves are 9-2 in their last 11 games. The Phillies are 3-6 against the Braves so far this season, and the two teams meet for a four-game series on Thursday at Citizens Bank Park.
The Phillies need to take it game-by-game and not think about the Braves’ recent run
The Phillies are also heating up as of late. Rob Thomson’s team is 9-5 in their last 14 games and coming off two straight series wins against the Kansas City Royals and the Houston Astros. The upcoming NL East showdown is an important series for the Phillies to remain at the top of the standings.
The Phillies have their four best starting pitchers scheduled to start throughout the series against the Braves. Cristopher Sánchez will start Game 1 followed by Ranger Suárez, Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola in the series finale. This series could go a long way in determining which team finishes the season as NL East champions.
It’s important for the Phillies to at the very least split the series with the Braves. If they can manage to take the series 3-1 or even sweep the Braves, then the Phillies will be well on their way to a division title.
If there’s ever a time to lock in and play mistake-free baseball, it’s now for the Phillies.
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