September has been a crazy month for the Phillies. The team has to play 30 games in 30 days, but 2 of those games are the second part of a doubleheader. The 2nd of those doubleheaders comes this Tuesday.
With an 8 game lead and 14 to play, the Phillies would seem to be a lock for the postseason. However, 6 of those 14 games are against the team chasing them, the Florida Marlins. The Fish could make up some ground or be pushed to the brink of elimination depending on how these next three games go.
The Magic Number for the Phillies is 6. For those who don’t know, the magic number is the combination of Phillies wins and Marlins losses that would eliminate the Marlins. For example, a Phillies’ sweep of this series would eliminate the Marlins (3 Phillies wins + 3 Marlins losses = the Magic Number of 6)
Being the best team on the road in baseball with a 45-29 record will help the Phillies during the 7 road games left, but the Phils have also turned around their record at home. After a miserable start to the season at Citizens Bank Park, they now have a very respectable home record of 42 wins and 32 losses. This team is well prepared to handle both road and home games.
With the season coming to a close, the biggest concern with the Phillies is getting healthy and getting ready for the postseason. The pitching staff has been hurt by injuries, most recently with Brett Myers complaining of a sore shoulder. He might have come back too early, but it’s too early to tell.
The sooner the Phillies can manage to clinch their 3rd straight NL East championship, the sooner the team can start to prepare for the playoffs. That includes setting up the potential playoff rotation and getting some players rest in the final few days of the season.
In the past few years, the heated race with the Mets down the stretch has provided a lot of motivation for the Phillies to get out there and get things done. With the division pretty much locked up, it’s up to the players to keep their intensity and stay focused for the next two weeks.
With the players in the Phillies’ clubhouse, that shouldn’t be a problem.
