Philadelphia Phillies: 3 overreactions from the awful weekend sweep
By Tim Boyle
It was a strange week for the Philadelphia Phillies. They got mashed. They got bashed. Then they did a whole lot of the same before heading out of the desert and up to Northern California to face the San Francisco Giants.
A bludgeoning on Friday followed by a tighter game on Saturday concluded on Sunday with an even more nail-biting conclusion. It took an eighth-inning three-run bomb from J.T. Realmuto to begin the scoring and tie things up after what felt like a sweep with a listless ending.
Unfortunately, things ended with a two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth from Wilmer Flores off of David Robertson. The sweep was completed, and Phillies fans will want anything to do with a broom, mop, or vacuum for at least a few days. Let’s overreact a little bit to what we just experienced.
3) The Philadelphia Phillies are taking this “third wild card is best” too seriously
Not long ago, the obvious was stated: the Phillies taking the third wild card spot is best for business. This would help them avoid playing the Atlanta Braves or New York Mets on the road to open the postseason. Instead, they would get to face the St. Louis Cardinals down in Missouri, which seems to favor them a lot more than going up against a rival to start things off.
Getting blasted in two out of three against the Arizona Diamondbacks before winning the finale with a slugfest of their own started the week off in a strange way. Against Gabe Kapler and the Giants, the Phillies were up against an opponent trending downward as opposed to the Diamondbacks, who have shown more life than ever these past few weeks.
Is the team too relaxed? Where is the sense of urgency? The Phillies don’t seem to be a playoff team right now, but neither do the Milwaukee Brewers—the one team out of the race with the likeliest chance of catching them.
With the San Diego Padres having some struggles of their own, the Phillies’ woes aren’t so frightening. They do need to start winning a little more. Even if the second wild card spot is what they end up with, we shouldn’t be too upset. With this team, you can never be too sure about anything. Let’s just get there and figure things out later. That’s been the plan all year, right?