With only a dozen or so games left of the season, the Phillies look to secure the division, a bye, and home field advantage as they face a possible postseason opponent
Milwaukee Brewers Record 86-63 (.577) First place in the NL Central
Philadelphia Phillies Record 90-59 (.604) First place in the NL East
The Phillies travel to American Family Field in Milwaukee for a three game set that may serve as a preview of a postseason faceoff, and with hopes to clinch the division for the first time since 2011.
The #Phillies have an outside shot to clinch the NL East this week in Milwaukee, home of butter burgers and frozen custard. https://t.co/7PUbzpZzjj
— Todd Zolecki (@ToddZolecki) September 16, 2024
In June when the Fightins and Brew Crew last squared off each team sat atop their respective division. In fact the Phillies carried the best record in the majors, and many other teams’ fans and talk radio personalities shrugged off this feat as the result of a schedule weighted in their favor. The series against the Brewers served as proof the Phillies possessed the talent to beat teams of a higher caliber than the White Sox and Rockies.
And beat the Brewers the Phillies did. Over three games the Good Guys allowed only two runs, putting on full display the dominance of the starting rotation in the face of a legitimately formidable Brewers offense. It was a good thing Zack Wheeler, Cristopher Sánchez, and Aaron Nola, along with the bullpen, fired on all cylinders because the Brewers’ pitching also showed up and allowed a mere two runs in two of those games, and three runs in the other.
Since then the Brewers continued a firm hold on the NL Central with an 11.0 game lead on the calamitous Chicago Cubs. Their strategy is simple and works – more often than not the starters and relievers keep the other team in check enough for the Milwaukee bats to do their job, and bank enough bench depth in case of injuries. Example: left fielder Christian Yelich was the powerhouse of the Brewers’ offense…was being the key word since he underwent back surgery that landed him on the 60-day IL and effectively ended his season.
Last week, at the age of 20, left fielder Jackson Chourio became the youngest player in MLB history to join the 20-20 club: twenty home runs and twenty stolen bases in a single season. Chourio’s rookie year has been one for the books, hitting .276, with 132 hits and 77 RBI, and an OPS of .808.
Second baseman and leadoff hitter Brice Turang, after a middling rookie season last year, has become a dangerous left-handed bat in the lineup. He’s not the only one. Shortstop Willy Adames, left fielder Sal Frelick, and centerfielder Garrett Mitchell are all serious threats in the box and are the backbone of an division winning offense.
Former Phillie and fan favorite Rhys Hoskins is struggling at the plate this season. He’s put up the worst numbers of his career, slashing just .207/.294/.409. Let’s hope he once again finds his groove, but maybe after the postseason.
As far as the Good Guys (that’s the Phillies in case you tripped and fell into a cryogenic chamber ala Futurama but in 1799 instead of 1999, sorry about the internet)
On Saturday, Bryce Harper broke a 30-game streak in which he hadn’t hit a home run. Despite the lack of long balls he remained immensely productive, slashing .324/.395/.514.
With 2 HRs on Saturday, Bryce Harper…
✅snaps a 30-game drought, his second longest
✅breaks a Phils tie w/Hoskins (148)
✅ties Rolen/Lieberthal for 14th in #Phillies history
✅becomes the 4th fastest Phillie to 150 (Howard/Klein/Schmidt per @JClarkNBCS)
__@TheGoodPhight pic.twitter.com/Y8NujeFrqj
— schmenkman (@tgpschmenk) September 15, 2024
Alec Bohm returned to the lineup on Sunday after suffering a hand injury, and Edmundo Sosa, who was out due to back spasms, is expected to return for Tuesday’s game in Milwaukee.
Since the start of September, the offense has been performing at the level one would expect from the team with the best record in baseball. They are 10-3, and have outscored opponents 69-59. And only two games accounted for 21 of those runs given up by the Phillies – the Miami game started by Seth Johnson in which he game up nine runs in 2.1 innings, and Friday’s game against the Mets in which Aaron Nola, reminiscent of seasons past, had a bad inning that combined with Max Lazar’s three runs put the game out of reach. The only other loss this month was also a Nola start in which he gave up four earned runs, but the game was still in the Phillies grasp until relievers Tanner Banks and Taijuan Walker gave Miami all they needed to secure the win.
The four pillars of the rotation, Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Cristopher Sánchez, and Ranger Suárez, are arguably the most formidable rotation in the majors. The bullpen, which looked shaky for a minute after the All-Star break, found its footing. Jeff Hoffman, Orion Kerkering, Carlos Estévez, and Jose Ruiz all appear eager and ready for a postseason run.
It feels like there’s momentum behind the Phillies, a reason why the Phillies are the only team in the majors with a record over .600. Still, the Phillies face a true challenge in the form of the Brewers. Don’t expect another sweep.
Scheduled pitching duels
Tonight will see Ranger Suárez (3.05 ERA) take the mound against rightie Aaron Civale (4.56 ERA). Civale was picked up by Milwaukee from the Tampa Bay Rays in July. His ERA improved slightly since the trade, dropping below 5.0 for the first time since April.
Tuesday will see Zack Wheeler (2.60 ERA) go against another trade acquisition in rightie Frankie Montas (4.49 ERA). Montas has done a little better with the Brewers than he did with the Reds, and can provide 6.0 innings without giving up an unmanageable number of runs. Well, they are an unmanageable number of runs if the other teams’ pitching prevents productions from the Brewers’ bats.
Hopefully Wheeler will turn in a performance that helps sway the Cy Young in his favor. He deserves it this season.
The series will wrap up on Wednesday with Aaron Nola (3.62 ERA) taking on Freddy Peralta (3.75 ERA). Peralta has been the bane of many an offense, but through August and so far in September he hasn’t gone deep in games, and batters are seeing him better and scoring more.
Some images presented for your interpretation pic.twitter.com/2gQOibAF01
— The Good Phight (@TheGoodPhight) September 15, 2024
Poll
In the Astros preview on August 26, I posed this trivia question: In the show Aqua Teen Hunger Force, John Kruk appears as which of the following? The correct answer is Kruk appeared as one of a trio of Greek sirens with a beef against Carl, who had chucked batteries at Kruk during a game in New York.
Here’s this week’s poll: