Although it feels like just a couple of weeks ago, it has been almost six months since the 162-0 article. The NL East has been a bloodbath this year, and while we're a long way from going 162-0, with just six games left in what could easily be considered a disappointing regular season, somehow, someway, the 81-75 Phillies find themselves just 2.5 games out of first as they head to Atlanta for a three-game series against the division leading Braves. To bring everyone up to speed, while there have been a couple of bright spots, the pitching staff as a whole has not been good, with a team era of 4.41 that currently ranks 20th in the MLB. The bullpen has once again been excruciating to watch, completing just 36 of 70 save opportunities, and the offense was as inconsistent as ever.
It hasn’t been all bad though. Zack Wheeler has put together a Cy Young worthy campaign going 14-9 with a 2.79 ERA while notching 240 k's and 3 complete games in 206.1 IP. His ERA is the 6th best in the MLB, and his strikeout numbers are second only to Robbie Ray who currently leads the league with 244. The Phil’s may also have had another Cy Young contender on their hands in Ranger Suarez had he began the year in the starting rotation instead of the bullpen. Suarez, who tossed a complete game shutout on just 97 pitches in his last start touts a 7-5 record with 38 total appearances on the year, striking out 98 in just 99 innings of work. But everyone knows, pitching is only half the battle, and while the offense has been wildly inconsistent throughout the season, they’re currently ranked 11th in the league in runs scored, and 10th in team RBI’s thanks in large part to a herculean effort from Bryce Harper since the All-Star break.
With the 5th highest batting average, and the 2nd highest OBP in the league, Harper has forced his way into the MVP conversation while quite literally putting this offense on his back during the second half. He leads the team in Average (.313), HR’s (34), RBI’s (82), and OBP (.434), while being just two hits shy of Jean Segura’s team leading 148. Bryce has also shown an improvement in his plate discipline, noticeably cutting down his strikeout numbers (currently at 124) compared to his last full 162 game season (178), while tallying the 3rd most walks in the MLB with 98. While the Phillies have relied on more late comebacks than I care to count this year, Bryce aside, the offense has been held down by Jean Segura who on top of his aforementioned 148 hits, is currently slashing .295 with a .354 OBP and the BCIB JT Realmuto who his hitting a cool .270 with 72 RBI’s and a .352 OBP.
On the other side of things, the Braves are the only NL East team who have secured a record above .500. Currently sitting at 83-72, it hasn’t exactly been a first-place cruise for the Braves either. After suffering a huge blow losing Ronald Acuna Jr. to a torn ACL right before the All-Star break, Atlanta’s season looked to be teetering. However, credit to the front office, they went out and made some big trades, bringing in Jorge Soler, Adam Duvall, and Joc Pederson to add some depth to the outfield. Atlanta is currently 7th in the MLB in runs scored and team RBI’s while bosting the 12th best team ERA in the league at 3.95. With Charlie Morton and Max Fried pacing the starters with 13 wins a piece, Morton leads the team with 203 K’s, while Fried has a team best 3.12 ERA. The real anchor of the staff though has been Will Smith who has the 4th most saves in the league currently, having slammed the door shut on 35 of 41 opportunities.
With massive playoff implications on the line, neither team will be pulling any punches, sending their 3 best hurlers to the bump for this series. Tonight, should be a duel between Wheeler and Morton, but we can’t help but gravitate our eyes towards Wednesday night’s Marquee matchup that will see Max Fried face off with a struggling Aaron Nola. Nola once again struggled in September after what has really been a shaky year for the man most had expected to be the team’s ace. Nola’s strikeout numbers are still strong (219), but he’s carrying an ERA of 4.64 and just hasn’t been as sharp with his location as we’ve come to, which has led to him entering this one with a record just barely above .500 at 9-8. The finale of the series is also looking to be a good one as Kyle Gibson who the Phillies acquired at the trade deadline will face off against 23-year-old Ian Anderson. Gibson is 4-5 with a 4.87 ERA while Anderson is 8-5 with a 3.60. All three first pitches are set for 7:20 pm so set your alarms because the Hunt for Red October continues tonight.
Written by: Jonathan Abbott
September 28, 2021