Red October: Where the Phillies stand after series with the Atlanta Braves
The Philadelphia Phillies split the four game series with the Atlanta Braves after a rain delay and loss in extra innings on Sunday.
The Brewers lost to the Cincinnati Reds earlier in the day on Sunday, which brought the Phillies magic number down to 8. If they were able to win the finale against the Braves, it would have given them a 2.5 game lead (3.5 tiebreaker) over Milwaukee.
Of course, that didn’t happen. Which gave the Phillies a 1.5 game lead (2.5 tiebreaker) over the Brewers with 10 games left in the regular season.
Phillies Wild Card Standings
To put that into perspective, the Phillies could technically split their final 10 games of the season and finish 5-5, and the Brewers would STILL need to go 7-2 over their final nine games to jump them.Â
The Final Push for the Playoffs
The Phillies have a day off today before and open up a three game series against the Chicago Cubs tomorrow. From there, they’ll travel to D.C. to face the Nationals for four games before ending the season in Houston for three.
On the road this season, the Phillies are just one game over the .500 mark and have lost 12 out of their last 17 games away from Citizens Bank Park.
Worth noting: The Phillies got swept by the Cubs in the first series back from the All-Star break and the Chicago now has won five of six games.
The Phillies have switched up their starting rotation for the Cubs series, setting themselves up for the playoffs.
Aaron Nola has been moved ahead of Ranger Suarez and will now start Wednesday instead of Thursday. That will allow him to pitch Game 160, and then have Game 2 of a playoff series on regular rest.Â
Phillies Starting Pitching vs Cubs
Zack Wheeler – Tuesday
Aaron Nola – Wednesday
Ranger Suarez – Thursday
The Hunt for Red October Continues.
