PHILADELPHIA-- There are 22 remaining games in the Major League Baseball season.
For the Philadelphia Phillies, they have to be five games better than the New York Mets in that stretch to clinch their second straight National League East title. If the Phillies go 11-11 over their next 22 games, the Mets would have to go 17-5 in that same period of time to take command of the division. They will match up for their final four times starting Monday, but the playoff picture could look drastically different upon the Phillies' return home.
Playoff Race
Phillies-Marlins
The first series we will focus on is the Philadelphia Phillies and Miami Marlins.
This season, the Phillies have won five of their seven games against Miami. This will be the final series in Miami, with the Marlins returning to Citizens Bank Park on September 23 for the final three games of their matchup.
Philadelphia will send Cristopher Sanchez, Jesus Luzardo, and Taijuan Walker to the mound in an effort to win another series late in the season. The Marlins will send Sandy Alcantara to the hill on Saturday to oppose Luzardo. The former NL Cy Young award winner has found a groove after early struggles this season upon his return from Tommy John.
Mets-Reds
Entering Friday, the New York Mets trail the Phillies by six games in the NL East. The Cincinnati Reds trail the Mets by five games for the final Wild Card spot. With a three-game series, the Mets are looking to end Cincy's chances of catching them for the sixth seed. The Reds, however, are hoping to inch back into the race with just weeks remaining in the season.
If the Phillies take care of business in Miami, the Reds could potentially put the dagger in the NL East race with a strong series vs New York. On the other side of the coin, a bad series by the Phillies and a strong series by the Mets could open the door for New York to strike in Philadelphia.
On Friday night, we will see a matchup of All-Star pitchers on display. The Reds are sending Andrew Abbott to oppose David Peterson of the Mets. Abbott is by far Cincinnati's best pitcher. How well he throws on Friday could help determine how the remainder of the series unfolds.
Giants-Cardinals
You are probably wondering what the San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals have to do with the race for the NL East. The short answer is, not much. However, this series has major implications for the Wild Card.
The Giants have caught fire, winning 10 of their last 11 games. They have rejoined the race for the sixth seed in the National League, now trailing the Mets by four games. They leapfrog the Reds in the hunt and are within striking distance of New York.
San Francisco will have eyes on the Mets-Reds series just like the Phillies. The only way the Giants would become a factor for Philadelphia is if the Mets do, in fact, take over first place in the East.
Watson's Watchlist (Phillies-Marlins)
There are two players that I am keeping a close eye on in the upcoming series against the Miami Marlins.
Kyle Schwarber
Kyle Schwarber has played this season at an MVP-caliber level. Schwarber rivals only Shohei Ohtani as a contender for the award in the National League.
However, Schwarber has hit a rough patch in his season. Over the last four series, a total of 13 games, Schwarber is hitting .128 with an on-base percentage of .293. He has just six hits in that stretch, four of which came from the Braves' game, where he hit all four in one night.
Take away that remarkable accomplishment, Schwarber is hitting 2/43 in that same stretch.
I would expect the Phillies' designated hitter to start to pick up the pace once again. He does not necessarily need to have multi-home run games, but starting to get back to his season norm of getting timely hits would be a huge boost for the Phillies' offense.
Nick Castellanos
Nick Castellanos has officially been demoted to a platoon role.
A player who once was an iron man in baseball is now splitting time with Max Kepler in right field. Based on the starting pitcher on any given night, Castellanos will only start against a left-hander.
Castellanos has struggled mightily since the All-Star break. The veteran outfield has a .562 OPS in 36 games since the break, and is hitting .199 in that same period. He has been productive enough to warrant starting every day, and manager Rob Thomson has pulled the plug.
The last time the Phillies were in Miami, Thomson benched Castellanos late in a game for a defensive substitution. This move upset Castellanos, leading to him making an inappropriate comment that earned him the next night off. In the following game, he made a game-saving catch in the ninth to seal a win for the Phillies.
Castellanos is from the Miami area and will likely have a large family presence in attendance. This could spark the veteran at the plate, helping get him back in the lineup more regularly.
