When it comes to off days in MLB, teams usually take advantage of the time to get their players to work on certain aspects of their game, rest those who may be nursing injuries, as well as giving them the chance to refresh, recharge and refocus. In doing so, it enables a team to be in the best possible mentality and health heading into the next stretch of games to maximize their chances of winning.
Weird stat of the day: Phillies having too much fun on off days?
But for whatever reason for the Philadelphia Phillies, the off day hasn’t been too kind to them during the second half of the 2024 season. As strange as it may seem, the Phillies actually hold a dismal 1-6 record in games following a day off since the All-Star break, according to Kevin Cooney of 97.5 The Fanatic.
Not only that, apparently, a power outage is usually associated with the post-off day games, as they have scored just three runs or less in five of those seven matches. In fact, they were even shut out by the basement-dwelling Miami Marlins in one of them.
So what has been happening? Are the Phillies having too much fun on their off days such that they are having trouble preparing properly for the game at hand the very next day? Or have they been sleeping in and been forgetting to set the alarm clock?
Whatever it may be, jokes aside, had the Phillies posted a better record in them, they may have already clinched the NL East division title by now. On the positive side, they only have one off day left in their schedule between now and the end of the season, so it can’t hurt them that much longer. But with the abundance of off days during the playoffs when teams move from city to city and series to series, the Phillies better have that all figured out by then or else they will be in big trouble.
But if there was anything that the Phillies could look to for more reassurance, at least they were a dominating 10-1 in games following an off day before the All-Star break. Thus, they have shown to have success with it before, so it was probably the baseball gods just trying to even things out for them with their second-half struggle in such situations.
Nevertheless, weird stat and all, the Phillies have been on a recent roll, winning six of their last nine games. As a result, they have reduced their magic number to clinch the NL East down to four, with only a matter of time before they make it official.