The Philadelphia Phillies didn’t play Friday, which makes it a good moment to be direct about where things stand: 49-39, second in the NL East, three games behind an Atlanta team that had lost 15 of 20 before beating the Mets on Friday night. The Phillies also hold a 1.5-game cushion in the wild-card standings. This is a genuinely open division race, and the schedule just handed Philadelphia a chance to keep pushing.
The homestand that wrapped Thursday was almost what it needed to be. The Phillies took the first two from Pittsburgh by a combined 18-6, then dropped the finale 6-1 — the kind of flat afternoon against a below-.500 club that a team chasing a division leader can’t keep filing away as no big deal. Two of three is fine. Against the Pirates, with Atlanta reeling, fine leaves runs on the table.
The reason for real optimism remains the middle of the order. Kyle Schwarber leads the majors with 30 home runs, and Bryce Harper continues to produce behind him. When the top of this lineup connects, Philadelphia can outscore anyone in the league; the question, as it has been most of the year, is what the roster looks like around them come the August 3 deadline. NBC Sports Philadelphia has already floated rental starting pitching as the sensible target, and the recent form of the rotation’s back end supports the idea.
Next up is a weekend interleague set against the Royals in Kansas City. Atlanta plays the last-place Mets three more times, so keeping pace is the minimum assignment. Winning the series is the actual one.
