The Phillies took a major three of four from the Braves to go into the regular season's final month with a seven-game lead in the NL East.
It was a rough August, which followed up a rough back half of July, but now the Phils have consecutive series wins over the Royals, Astros, and division rival Atlanta, with a bit of a more relaxed schedule coming up to close out starting with the Blue Jays Tuesday night in Toronto.
Are the Phillies in the clear yet? No.
But things certainly look a lot better now than they did just two weeks ago as the chase after October hits a full-on sprint.
Here's where the Phillies are sitting in the latest wave of MLB power rankings...
MLB.com: 3rd
The Phillies came in at third behind the Dodgers (first) and Yankees (second) over at MLB.com, keeping them still very much in the running as one of baseball's best.
And as frustrating as the past month has been, Will Leitch did note something interesting about how the Phillies closed out August:
Heading into Sunday night’s game, it was clear that the Phillies had raised their game against elite competition. Over a nine-game stretch against likely playoff teams in the Braves, Royals and Astros, the Phillies went 6-3, with a 1.48 ERA in those six wins. They also now have 14 shutouts, most in the Majors. [MLB.com]
Maybe the struggles weren't as bad as they seemed in the end.
MORE: 5 things we learned from Phils-Braves
ESPN: 3rd
ESPN's baseball panel also ranked the Phillies third – again behind the Yankees in second and the Dodgers in first.
Keep in mind that ESPN typically publishes its baseball power rankings on Thursdays, so David Schoenfield wrote this heading into the Braves series:
Some fun Phillies facts to watch:
- Alec Bohm is 11 RBIs from reaching 100, which would make him the first Phillies third baseman to reach the century mark since Scott Rolen in 2001.
- Kyle Schwarber is hitting .193 with a .755 OPS vs. right-handed pitchers, but .324 with a .955 OPS vs. left-handed pitchers.
- Trea Turner is hitting .305, which would make him the first Phillies shortstop to hit .300 since Larry Bowa in 1975 (and before that, you'd have to go back to Dick Bartell in 1934).
- With the Phillies' upcoming big four-game series against Atlanta -- in which they can essentially wrap up the division by taking three of four -- they moved up the struggling Taijuan Walker to pitch Wednesday against the Astros and pushed Cristopher Sanchez back to start Thursday against the Braves. [ESPN]
Bohm is still 11 away RBIs away from triple digits, Schwarber is still crushing lefties, Turner is a point under .300 as of Monday, and Walker is now headed for the bullpen so the Phillies can at least try to salvage something out of what's been a brutal season for him.
But hey, they walked away with the advantage from the four-game Braves set. That's what really counts right now – not necessarily the how.
Bleacher Report: 2nd
The Phillies might've woken up.
The Phillies spent two months in a funk, going 23-30 between June 12 and August 13. But they're pulling out of it, as their latest strong week bumped them to an 12-6 record for their last 18 games.
Having to move Taijuan Walker to the bullpen was a bummer, but the rotation is in strong hands whenever Zack Wheeler or Aaron Nola takes the ball. And Wheeler in particular, as he's hot off an August in which he had a 1.62 ERA over 39 innings. [B/R]
The Score: 2nd
But if they're going to close out the division, they need Bryce Harper to fully wake back up, too.
The Phillies continue to hold a tight grip on the NL East heading into September. However, the club needs Bryce Harper to find his power stroke down the stretch despite nagging elbow and wrist injuries. The two-time NL MVP went deep just twice in August as Philadelphia went through an up-and-down month. [The Score]
USA Today: 2nd
Where would they be without Zack Wheeler? His 2.63 ERA would be a career best. [USA Today]
Rather not find out.
MORE: Top prospect Aidan Miller gets promotion to Double-A Reading
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