“This is a team that you don’t want to get swept by. It’s just true. We need to take that personal and go out there and finish strong, start winning some games. Start playing some good baseball and just be consistent.”

The words are above is what Zack Wheeler said after the Philadelphia Phillies lost their fourth straight game and the seven out of the last nine games since winning eight games straight in early August.

The Phillies scored only six runs on 14 hits in three games in Arizona. They have fallen way back down to just one game over .500 at 61-60. On July 31st, the Phillies were 4.5 games back of the National League East leading New York Mets. On August 8th, they had a two game lead and were in first place in the NL East. They are now four games behind the surging Atlanta Braves and sit in second place. A series in San Diego against the Padres is up next.

Not only have the Phillies fallen out of first place, but they had the opportunity to make up ground in the Wild Card race with San Diego going 1-7 over the last week. They are now five games back from the last Wild Card spot, held by the struggling Padres.

Pardon my french, but what a fucking disaster, Phillies. It’s hard to even pretend to be surprised. This is a team and organization that has failed to make any type of run for the last decade. Just when you think they are turning a corner and go on an eight game winning streak, they come out and completely shit the bed. But once you have watched 121 Phillies games this season, you have no choice but to just lock in and see where the rest of the season takes this ball club heading into the playoffs.

Here’s what the Phillies schedule looks like heading into September:

• Padres (3)
• Rays (2)
• D-Backs (4)
• Nationals (3)
• Marlins (3)

As for the Braves, they have a much more difficult schedule after three games against the Baltimore Orioles:

• Orioles (3)
• Yankees (2)
• Giants (3)
• Dodgers (3)
• Rockies (3)

All things considered, the Phillies are still in the running for a Red October, but of course, it’s hard to have any type of faith in a team that can’t play consistent baseball. During their current stretch of 2-7 baseball, the Phillies are batting a miserable .181 with a .555 OPS. They only have five home runs and 21 runs scored during that span. When they were healthy during their eight game winning streak, they batted .289 with a .901 OPS. They hit 16 home runs and scored 55 runs.

I’ll leave you with some words from JT Realmuto:

“If we don’t win ballgames, four teams could run away with it, not just the Braves. We have to play better, and we have to focus on what we can do.”