With the All-Star Game behind us, it’s time to start focusing on the pennant races. With only two months left, is it realistic to believe the Phillies have what it takes to catch up to the Braves? It’s been nearly two weeks, and the Phillies haven’t moved an inch. They were trailing first-place Atlanta by 6.5 games at the break and needed a strong start to the second half. Instead, they have won only five of their ten second-half games as of Monday. They now trail Atlanta by 7.5 games. It’s not insurmountable, but it’s getting late in the season. It may be more advantageous to focus on capturing a wild card spot. The trouble is, there are suddenly an awful lot of horses in the National League Wild Card race.
There is Life After Bryce Harper
On May 23rd, the Washington Nationals suffered a 6-4 loss to the New York Mets that capped off a three-game sweep. The loss dropped Washington’s record to 19-31 and left them in fourth place. Bryce Harper had deserted them for Philadelphia’s piles of cash in spring training. It appeared the nasty hangover of his departure was going to wreck their season. Then, they caught fire.
Since that pounding at the hands of the Mets, the Nats have posted the second-best record in the National League. Their 33-16 mark since that date is bettered only by the seemingly unstoppable Dodgers. Anthony Rendon is on his way to his best season as a pro, having driven in 67 runs and collected 49 extra-base hits by the end of play on Sunday. Second-year outfielder Juan Soto has also stepped up his game in Harper’s absence, hitting .293 with 62 RBI of his own. With Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg at the top of their rotation, the Nats might be the most dangerous team in a crowded field.
The Brew Crew Are Still Hanging Around
The Milwaukee Brewers have had a bumpy ride in 2019. They were a hot pick for the World Series when the season started, but they have struggled to find consistency. They entered play on Monday in possession of the second wild-card spot, 0.5 a game behind Washington. Christian Yelich has slugged 35 homers and knocked in 76 runs so far this season. Ryan Braun, Mike Moustakas, and newcomer Yasmani Grandal have also been very productive. The pitching, however, has had its good and bad points.
Zach Davies has anchored the pitching attack, posting 8 wins and a career-best 2.79 ERA. 26-year-old Brandon Woodruff leads the team with 11 victories. In contrast, Jhoulys Chacin, who’s red hot second half helped key the Brewer’s run a year ago, has posted a 5.67 ERA and already allowed 18 home runs this year. Chase Anderson has been up and down, and the Brewers have continued to search for a reliable fifth starter. If Chacin or former All-Star Gio Gonzalez comes back to form, the Brewers might outrun everyone in the wild card race. They may even run past the Cubs in the NL Central like they did last season.
A Redbird October?
The St. Louis Cardinals are above the .500 mark. This year, that means they are right in the middle of the NL wild-card race. They have a solid lineup and pitching staff on paper. Despite a sub-par year by his standards, Paul Goldschmidt is still a formidable force in the middle of the lineup, Miami Marlins cast-off Marcel Ozuna leads the club with 20 homers, and they have plenty of pennant race and postseason experience with veterans like Matt Carpenter, Yadier Molina, and Dexter Fowler.
The pitching staff has been a pleasant surprise, despite the struggles of supposed anchors Adam Wainwright and the injury-prone Michael Wacha. Jack Flaherty has been a reliable hurler every fifth day, while Dakota Hudson continues to impress in his second big league season. If they can acquire another starter or if Goldschmidt’s bat gets hot, postseason play could return to the most storied franchise in the National League.
Desert of Playoff Dreams
Goldschmidt’s former team, the Arizona Diamondbacks, are way back in the Dodgers’ rearview as far as the NL West is concerned. The wild card, however, is within their reach. Christian Walker has taken over first base duties with surprising results, cracking 19 homers and 51 RBI. Combine that with the numbers of MVP candidate Ketel Marte and you have a solid one-two punch. But the real strength of this team is the pitching.
Robbie Ray is once again among the league leaders in strikeouts and sports a respectable ERA of 3.95. The surprising Merrill Kelly has occasionally wowed in his first major league season, posting a losing record but a solid ERA of 3.77. They also have the great Zack Greinke, now 36 years old. The All-Star and two-time ERA champion is having another fine season. His 2.93 ERA ranks seventh among NL hurlers, while his 0.94 WHIP is good enough for second-best in the league. If they wind up in the NLDS, their three-man playoff rotation would be tough to beat.
A Golden Gate Renaissance
They dominated the first half of this decade, but the San Francisco Giants have been at or near the bottom of the NL West standings for a couple of years now. Names like Buster Posey, Brandon Belt, and Brandon Crawford still give this roster an echo of playoff and World Series heroics, but the team didn’t start out looking like a contender. All of that has changed dramatically in the last three weeks.
The Giants, as of Monday, have won 19 of their last 22 games to climb above .500 at 51-50. That mark has them only two games out of the second wild-card spot. It had been a foregone conclusion that free-agent-to-be Madison Bumgarner would be traded before the July 31st deadline. With his club back in the race, they must decide whether to take their playoff hero of years past on one last ride through September in Bruce Bochy’s final year at the helm.
A Crowded Field
Right now, six teams are within two games of one another in the NL Wild Card picture. That does not count either Colorado or San Diego, both of whom are under .500 but only 5 games out themselves. The Phillies have just as capable a roster as any of these teams. They could find themselves in the wild card playoff game against any one of them. They could just as easily end up watching it on television. With so many horses in this race, it’s going to be hard to predict a winner. I can predict, however, that it will be one hell of a race.
Main photo:
Embed from Getty Images
