PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Phillies’ biggest road trip of the season is upon them.
The Phils have dropped four out of six to fall out of first place by one game in the National League East, while the Atlanta Braves have won 10 out of 12 to take sole possession of that spot. The latter team has tons of momentum, while the former needs to rediscover the mojo that propelled it into first off an eight-game winning streak.
“The Braves are gonna keep going. They’re gonna keep playing well,” Bryce Harper said after the Phils’ disappointing 7-4 loss to the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday, giving them a second consecutive series loss at Citizens Bank Park.
“That’s the Braves,” he said. “That’s their team. Same thing with the Mets. They’re gonna keep playing well also, so we gotta do the same thing.”
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However, the Phillies offense slumped against the mighty Dodgers and weren’t productive enough against the Reds. And, their two losses to Cincinnati were with Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola, their two top pitchers. If they don’t fix that going forward, they can kiss any postseason aspirations goodbye.
The Phils began the nine-game homestand with a three-game sweep of the rival Mets, only to follow that up with their disappointing showing against Los Angeles and the Reds, and thus a 5-4 stretch.
Don't be mistaken — the defending champion Dodgers, as well as the Reds, are no slouches. It may be a welcoming sight to some that the worst team in baseball — the 38-81 Arizona Diamondbacks — are on the horizon before a weekend series at the dynamic San Diego Padres.
To think the D-Backs will be an easy out is understandable, but don’t forget the fact the Phils are 25-32 on the road compared to 36-25 at home. Meanwhile, the red-hot Braves continue their road trip at the lowly Miami Marlins and even worse, Baltimore Orioles.
Joe Girardi’s Phillies can’t take the Diamondbacks for granted, and they will likely have to sweep them to keep pace with the Braves by this time next week.
“You write up a lot of scripts on paper too and they don’t always come to fruition,” said manager Girardi.
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Only eight of the next 28 games for the Phillies are against teams above .500. Five of those eight are within the next week and a half.
If the Braves keep winning and Phils continue to lose, it won’t matter how many games are left.
“I don’t really want to hear [the eight-of-next-28 stat],” Girardi said. “I don’t want our players to hear that. We got to go grind out every game and try to win every game. That’s the bottom line. And if we do that, we’re gonna be fine.”
It’s unknown if the Phillies will get Rhys Hoskins back from his groin injury on this road trip. It’s clear the Phils miss his power, production and right-handed bat in the lineup.
Regardless of other teams’ records, the Phillies also have to show improvement on the road. They only have five games at Citizens Bank Park through Sept. 8.
The Phils can do all the scoreboard-watching they want. In the end, they have to succeed at what they can control.
“Like I said before,” said Harper, “it doesn’t matter whatever all the other teams do. We gotta keep winning games, and if we don’t, it doesn’t matter.”