Philadelphia Phillies can’t afford a bad series against Chicago Cubs
By Dan Parzych
When looking at the standings for the NL East and Wild Card race, the Philadelphia Phillies can’t afford to have a disappointing series this weekend against the Chicago Cubs.
To say this season was similar to a roller coaster ride would be a huge understatement for the Philadelphia Phillies when considering this team looks like one of the hottest in baseball one week, only to struggle the next.
Take a look at the last two weeks for example, as one would think the Phillies are playing great baseball at the moment following an 8-6 win over the Washington Nationals on Wednesday, but that was far from the case.
Leading up to that contest, Philadelphia had lost eight of their previous 10 games, with four of those losses coincidentally coming against Washington. At the moment, the Phillies trail by three games in both the race for the NL East and final Wild Card spot, so seeing the team lose so many games as of late is beyond frustrating.
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With September officially beginning on Saturday, Philadelphia is running out of time to be in the most comfortable position possible when it comes to what is turning into quite the playoff race in the National League.
And with an upcoming series against a Chicago Cubs team looking to increase their lead in the NL Central, the last thing the Phillies can afford is to display the same struggles prior to Wednesday’s game against the Nationals.
To be the best, a team like Philadelphia needs to prove they deserve to be in the same conversation as the best, and a big series against Chicago is the best way to do so.
Taking all three games of the series may be difficult, but even if the Phillies manage to win two of three in the series, this will still be viewed as a positive factor since they will continue to be in great shape for both the division and Wild Card races.
As great as it would be to win the NL East, as long as Philadelphia manages to earn one of the playoff spots, this is all that truly matters the most. From there, the Phillies can worry about whatever playoff matchup stands in their way since clinching a spot is arguably the toughest spot.
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Most importantly, Philadelphia needs to focus on one series at a time to avoid jumping too far ahead, and missing out on winning current matchups, which sadly happens more often than people realize. So with the Cubs coming to town this weekend, it’s time for the Phillies to start off this final month of regular season action on a hot note to help put them in better shape for their playoff run.