4 things Phillies fans should key in on as NLDS approaches

The regular season is complete and the Philadelphia Phillies are headed back to the postseason for the third consecutive season. This year is a little different, however. They will not play in the Wild Card round as they clinched a bye to the NLDS last week. Their opponent is unknown, but it is between the Mets and Brewers.

With the 2024 regular season complete and the opponent not yet fully known, how do the fans feel going into the NLDS? I took to X to find out.

Concerns for Ranger

The recent struggles Ranger Suárez have caused fans to grow concerned about how he’ll pitch in the postseason. He looked like a Cy Young candidate to start the year, finishing the all-star break with a 10-4 record, 2.76 ERA, and 112 strikeouts in his 19 appearances.

Since then, it has been very different. After the all-star break, Ranger has 5.65 and 33 strikeouts in 8 appearances. He has battled injury, and fans fear he may still be injured. He has not registered a quality start since June 25 of this year when the Phillies lost to the Detroit Tigers.

Suarez has a whole week to get healthy and get his mind right, something they haven’t had the opportunity to do the last two years they’ve made the postseason. This could be a huge advantage for Ranger in the long run and set him up for some massive success.

Top-tier bullpen

This Phillies bullpen is downright filthy and saying otherwise would be incorrect. When you have five bullpen guys you can go to on any given night in any situation, you’re in an incredible spot. They can throw Jeff Hoffman, Jose Alvarado, Matt Strahm, Orion Kerkering, or Carlos Estevez in most scenarios and come out of it just fine.

If they can keep up the pace and limit the runners on base, they’ll have no problem getting the job done this time around.

Ready to win it all

This team has been the best in MLB since the second week of April. They have been waiting for this since being knocked out early last season by Arizona in the NLCS. Their opponent will be the Mets or Brewers, two teams they have a history with. They have never lost to either the Mets or Brewers in the postseason, and they won the season series against both teams this year, but we all know that doesn’t matter when it gets to the postseason.

The 2024 Phillies have everything it takes to get a parade down Broad Street. They have one of the best starting rotations, one of the best bullpens, and one of the best lineups going into the postseason. This doesn’t include the strong home-field advantage Citizens Bank Park has. They are set up for success and have one of the best opportunities to take home the prize.

Play like the first-half Phillies

The Phillies are 33-33 since the All-Star break this year. They played .500 baseball in the second half after finishing the first half 62-34. The pace they were playing at was not going to be sustainable, but they should have played better than 33-33. They hit .255/.316/.425/.741 as a team in the second half with 80 homers. Their OBP needs to be higher in the postseason, a .316 will not cut it when one run can make a difference between going to the World Series or going home. Just get on base and magic will happen.

The fans have spoken. Everyone is excited for yet another Red October, this time they enter as NL East champs. The Braves and their fans have complained about the week off for the last two years, dismissing what the Phillies have been able to do. Now is their time to prove the Phillies are simply better when it comes to the postseason.