Will the Phillies Make the Playoffs?
This year, the Philadelphia Phillies have had one of their best seasons in quite some time. Due to their winning record and surprising season, the Phillies have a chance to make the playoffs. The last time they made the playoffs was in 2011. Lucky for us, the chances of the Phillies making the playoffs this year are higher than they have been in a while. In order to do so, the Phillies have to obtain the wildcard position.
Unfortunately, the Phillies are in a division with two of the MLB's best teams, the Atlanta Braves and the New York Mets. It is a two-man race between those two teams to win the NL East, which is the Phillies division. The two teams are both arguably better than the Phillies. Nonetheless, they still have a chance to make the playoffs.
The Phillies are currently in a position to make the playoffs as the last wild card team. If that happens, they will play against the St. Louis Cardinals in a wildcard game. As a better opponent than the Mets or Braves, the Cardinals are the perfect opponent to play as the last seed.
The Milwaukee Brewers are right behind the Phillies and have a chance to overtake them for the last spot in the playoffs. With only a few games left, you may think that there is no way that they will catch the Phillies, but that is not the case. The Phillies have only a half-a-game lead on the Brewers.
Unfortunately, the Phillies have been playing horribly recently, and are currently down 2-0 in the series against the Cubs. These recent losses are crucial and make Phillies fans feel like they are not ready, and don’t care, to make the playoffs. They will not make the playoffs if they lose another game in this Cubs series.
To be fair, the Phillies have dealt with terrible injury luck. For example, Bryce Harper, the Phillies' best player and one of the best players in the league, was out for the entire season. It does not stop there; some other big names for the Phillies have gotten injured this season. Some of them include Zack Wheeler, Nick Castellanos, Reese Hoskins, and Sir Anthony Dominguez.
Baseball is all about peaking at the right time, and if the Phillies want to make and do well in the playoffs, they have to start playing well. Let's hope they can maintain their spot and maybe even make it far in the playoffs.
Update: The Phillies beat the Houston Astros 3-0, and are heading to their first playoffs since 2011!