Red October: Where the Phillies stand after taking 3 of 4 from the Washington Nationals

The Philadelphia Phillies spent a rain-soaked weekend in Washington DC and hopped on a plane to Houston last night winning three of four to put their magic number at 1 Game with three left against the Astros.Â
Losers of 5-straight, the Phillies went into the series vs the Nationals in desperation. They won Friday’s game before getting embarrassed in the first of the doubleheader on Saturday, losing 13-4.
Luckily, they bounced back winning the nightcap 8-2 thanks to two home runs from Kyle Schwarber, before winning Sunday with Zack Wheeler on the mound. Â
The Phillies are now 86-73 on the year and with the tiebreaker, they now hold a two game advantage over the Milwaukee Brewers with three to play.Â
Phillies Wild Card Standings

Tonight, Aaron Nola will take the mound against Lance McCullers Jr. with an opportunity to clinch a MLB playoff spot for the first time in a decade for the city of Philadelphia.
The Houston Astros are elite. They lead the league with 104 wins and this series was never one that was supposed to close out the regular season for the Phillies.
Side Note: Due to the MLB lockout, the first series of the season was postponed, moving a date with the Astros with the playoffs on the line to the end of the season.Â
Luckily, our friends in the NL East helped the Phillies out BIG TIME over the weekend. The Miami Marlins won 3-of-4 games against the Brewers, catapulting the Fightins magic number to 1 game.Â
The Brewers finish with three games against Arizona.
Just one loss would put the Phillies in the post season.Â
The Hunt for Red October Continues.
Mandatory Credit: The Philadelphia Phillies