The Phils are 52-48 and find themselves in third place, 7.5 games behind the Atlanta Braves. They're tied with the Cardinals, 1/2 game out of the second wild card spot, currently held by the Brewers. The Nationals have the other wild card spot.
If the Phillies are going to make the playoffs, it's going to be by way of the wild card. I don't see the Phils getting hot enough to overtake the Braves; they've been too inconsistent. The Phils would need to go something like 42-20 the rest of the way to have any shot at all of topping Atlanta.
Thirty-two of those games are on the road, with 30 at home. Thirty-seven of the games are against teams that are currently .500 or below. They have 10 games left with the Braves, 6 with Miami, 6 with the Mets, and 5 with the Nationals.
To have any shot at all of playing baseball in October, they need to beat those teams at .500 or below. 25-12 against those teams will do a lot to send them in that direction. But those 10 against the Braves, including 7 in September, will probably decide if the Phils play in October or not.
___
I didn't like the signing of Drew Smyly and I'm still not crazy about. But he pitched pretty well yesterday against the Pirates, allowing just 1 run, 4 hits, and 2 walks in 6 innings of work. He struck out 8, most of them with his curveball which moves like a screwball. Lefthanders, right? If Smyly can keep this up, this team might have a chance.
No comments:
Post a Comment