The Philadelphia Phillies’ Remaining Schedule Is Looking Easier By The Day
Remaining schedule is an important thing to look at during this part of the baseball season. As teams across the majors try to put together a playoff push, who they’re playing is a big part of the equation. For the Phillies, this element is looking more and more like a benefit every day. We already knew that coming into the post-All Star Game part of the schedule the Phils had the most home games remaining in all of baseball, but now, as they turn towards the home stretch of the regular season, the quality of opposition is dropping, and fast. If you didn’t already think the Phillies were a lock to make the playoffs, scroll down through their remaining games. It’s not a total cakewalk, but it is certainly a path of lesser resistance than other teams are currently facing.
After wrapping up a stretch of 17 games in 17 days, the Phillies will have two off days this week as they settle back into a more normal cadence of games. They’ll play 2 against the Blue Jays, who have a nearly identical record; it’ll be a good series to see them take on a competitive team. Then, though? 3 against the lowly Nationals, 3 against the Giants, who are a game and a half back of the Phils in the wild card race, and rounding out the month, the lowly Cardinals, the bombing (and not in a good way) Angels. Each and every one of those series are winnable, and the Phillies should see themselves favored often for the rest of August. September is a little bit tougher, but not anything to be shaking in your boots about if you’re wearing red pinstripes.
Outside of the Braves, who the Phillies play 7 times in the final month of the regular season, the only other playoff teams the Phillies will see are the Miami Marlins, who are hanging on to the final wild card spot by a slim half game margin over the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds, and the Milwaukee Brewers, who are not exactly world beaters though they do currently lead the NL Central. The Mets may actually end up being a favorite team here in Philly, which is a sentence I never thought I would type and might make you sick to read. But they have become a dumpster fire, and the Phillies play them 7 times in September. That’s a major opportunity to stack some wins, and one that could make a big difference in where the Phils end up in the wild card standings.
Now, the 7 games against Atlanta actually bumps the Phillies’ remaining strength of schedule up to 11th hardest in baseball, but the bad teams they’re matched up against are so bad it should outweigh the tough matchups with the NL East leader. With the Phillies getting healthier as Cristian Pache and Jose Alvarado work their way back from injury, their playoff chances look pretty darn good. The numbers, courtesy of Fangraphs, back up that feeling. Right now, the Phillies are listed as having an 84.8% chance of making the playoffs, the 8th best mark in baseball. They also have the 6th best odds to win the World Series because of the National League being less intimidating than the American League, but we’ll get to that when we get to it. The bottom line, though? The schedule is in the Phillies’ favor, and there are glimpses of a really good run to come for the rest of the season. The opportunity is there; the Phils just need to take care of business and they should be set for another Red October.
