Philadelphia Phillies slugger Bryce Harper isn’t ready to pop the champagne just yet. Harper’s Phillies have a seven-game lead in the NL East over the second-place Mets and Braves, both of whom are fighting for the third and final NL Wild Card spot.
Heck, if any organization knows what it’s like to fold this late in the season, it should be Philadelphia, crafters of one of the best division comebacks in recent memory. The Mets held a seven-game lead late in the 2017 season — same as the Phillies this year — and lost 12 of their final 17 games to miss the playoffs altogether.
Bryce Harper keeps the Phillies in check after loss to Marlins
Following a 10-1 loss to the lowly Miami Marlins over the weekend, Harper made sure to keep his team in check.
“This division ain’t close to being done,” Harper said. “Obviously there are two good teams behind us. We’re going to play the (New York) Mets a couple times. We’ve got to keep rolling. We can’t really worry about the magic number or anything like that. The magic number is nothing to worry about when it’s not under 10 games. We’ve got to keep going, keep grinding.”
Could the Phillies really blow their NL East lead?
The Phillies remaining schedule is not an easy one, and they went 25-27 in July and August. Philadelphia has seven games against the second-place Mets, so there is plenty of room for New York to make up ground. They also have series against the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers and NL Wild Card-contending Chicago Cubs. Both of those teams have plebty to play for down the stretch.
As for Harper, he has rebounded nicely after a tough month of August. Harper is now slashing .285/.373/.521, good for an .894 OPS and 26 home runs. The 31-year-old is back to being a force in the middle of the Phillies lineup, he just needs his teammates to follow suit.
In particular, the Phillies rotation has not performed up to par since the All-Star Break. Their second-half ERA is well over four, and the bullpen ERA is even worse. If Philly is to make a deep playoff run, these stats specifically must improve before the end of the regular season.
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