Somehow, Phillies Still Hanging Around in NL Wild Card Race
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Don’t look now–and with the NFL making its full return today, I’m sure you probably aren’t–but the Phillies are only two games out of a playoff spot.
Somehow.
They’re not quite bad enough to die, not quite good enough to inspire any true confidence, and yet, they return to Citizens Bank Park this week after a 4-3 road trip with their season very much alive.
You would have thought after two late-inning collapses in Cincinnati that were followed by a walk-off loss (their second in two days) on Friday night that maybe, just maybe, the Phillies were about to spiral out of control.
Nope.
Not even an erratic bullpen that negated three valiant comeback efforts in three successive games–or a starting rotation that has pitched to a 4.83 ERA since August 15 after Vince Velasquez allowed four earned runs over 4.1 IP today–have finished off the Phillies for good.
Again, somehow.
They erased an early 3-0 deficit this afternoon on their way to a 10-7 win over the Mets thanks to an offense that produced double digit runs on 13 hits without J.T. Realmuto and Bryce Harper in the lineup, because of course they did.
After Phil Gosselin broke up a 4-4 tie in the sixth inning with an RBI single, twice-demoted third baseman Maikel Franco delivered this two-run blast:
💣💣💣#RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/H6t9UtmQ7g
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) September 8, 2019
Franco is now 4 for 9 with a home run, a double, and 3 RBIs since returning to the Phillies a few days ago.
Predictably, the Mets would cut the Phillies’ lead to one, but that’s when Scott Kingery broke things open for good:
#RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/CNGQ5PH8fv
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) September 8, 2019
The Blake Parker-Nick Vincent-Hector Neris trio, an embarrassment of bullpen riches, would hold things down from there.
20 games to go and the Phillies still have a chance.
Somehow.