The MLB season is winding down to its last few days, and the NL Wild Card chase is one of a couple of races left to be determined. The other spots were clinched last September except for the NL East and NL Wildcard, which will be down to the final days of the regular season. The Philadelphia Phillies are clinging to the final NL Wildcard, tied with the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Brewers started off the season on a high note as they were even leading the NL Central for numerous months of the season. The Phillies had their own issues as they fired former manager Joe Girardi, but they regrouped in the middle of the campaign and are poised to make the postseason. As the race gets tighter and tighter, these are the changes Philadelphia must address.
Phillies Starters Shape Up
There is no question that one of the main assets of the Phillies is their starting pitching. They have Aaron Nola, Zach Wheeler, and Noah Syndergaard who are well-known as terrific pitchers. That has not been the case in the high-pressure situations as one of Philadelphia's main reasons for losing six out of their last seven games. In their Game 1 loss in a doubleheader against the Washington Nationals earlier today, the Phillies surrendered 13 runs to a team that is not even close to reaching the postseason.
Over a 162-game season, there will be several losses to subpar teams, but it is frustrating for Phillies fans to lose to the Nationals at this juncture of the season. The Phillies can be confident with their pitching staff to lead them to win the final two games against the Nationals, but the more important games are against the exceptional Houston Astros.
The Astros may decide to reach some of their main guys because they clinched the AL West, but Philadelphia must still bring their A-game to avoid any sort of complications in the NL Wildcard race.
Find their early-season power
The losing has been embarrassing for the Philadelphia fans because they were already on track to snap their 11-year postseason drought before sputtering over the last few weeks. The power and offensive capabilities of this squad were magnificent early in the season with Kyle Schwarber leading the squad with 44 homers and Rhys Hoskins with 30 long balls.
The pitching has been a major cause for concern for Philadelphia, so they may be forced to duel it out in a high-scoring affair over the last few games of the season. Knowing the Houston Astros, their squad will remain competitive even if it is non-bearing games, so the Phillies will need to showcase their all-around prowess with the bat on their final series of the regular season.
The probability of the contests relying more on the batters will be at a high level, so the offense will be crucial in determining the winner. Yes, Houston will not be competing for anything in the regular season, but they would want to have the momentum heading into the postseason that begins on Friday night. It is just not the power that the Phillies must rely on, but they need to improve on their efficiency and contact hitting rather than pulling the ball on every swing.
Philadelphia's situation does not look good with the losses piling up, but the important part is they can still control their own destiny and lock up their NL Wild Card spot.
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