Over the weekend, the Philadelphia Phillies wrapped up their nine game home stand in disappointing fashion. Philly started off by sweeping the New York Mets and taking control of the National League East to at the time, extend their win streak to eight games. Yesterday, they ended it with a 7-4 loss to the Cincinnati Reds.

With that loss, The Phillies fell out of first place and into second place in the NL East race. They lost 2-of-3 to both the Dodgers and Reds and have the day off today before heading west to face the Diamondbacks and Padres. 

The Phillies went from averaging 10 hits, two home runs, and 6.9 runs per game during their eight game winning streak, to just six hits and 2.5 runs per game while losing 4-of-6 to the Dodgers and the Reds. As their opponents got better, the Fightins failed to play up to their opponents.

Philadelphia now sit in second place in the National League East, one game behind the leading Atlanta Braves. They’re now 61-57 and have a day off Monday before beginning an important six-game trip to Arizona and San Diego on Tuesday. The road has not been kind to the Phillies the last few seasons. They are 25-32 away from home this season.

Aaron Nola fell to 7-7 yesterday as his ERA increased to a 4.48 on the season. The Phillies are now 11-13 in 24 Aaron Nola starts. Nola gave up six hits and four runs in 4 1/3 innings yesterday after a promising start against the Dodgers earlier in the week in which he pitched four innings and struck out seven. 

For the Phillies, getting Aaron Nola back on track might be the biggest deciding point in breaking a decade long postseason drought. As we all know, in September, when the Phillies have struggled to secure a playoff birth over the last 10 years, Nola is 7-12 with a 4.28 ERA in 27 September starts in his career. 

Mandatory Credit: Laurence Kesterson, Associated Press