Philadelphia Phillies: Head-to-head vs. NL West playoff rivals
By Tal Venada
Competitive series:
When a franchise faces head-to-head competition with divisional and wild-card hopefuls, it is a preview of October. In fact, even a club on the edge of contention can be a thorny opponent. To illustrate, the Washington Nationals are not an also-ran competition-wise. Ergo, difficult to beat.
Arizona’s tough stretch continued from June 29 into the second half through Aug. 8. In the desert, they went 6-10 against the Giants twice (2-5), Cardinals (1-2), Rockies (1-2) and Phillies (2-1). However, they were 5-5 away from Chase Field: the Rocks (1-2), Braves (2-1) and Cubs (2-2).
As for Colorado, their record was 31-18 from June 26 through Aug 26. They were 17-7 in the friendly confines versus the Giants (3-0), D-backs (2-1), Mariners (3-0), Astros (1-1), A’s (3-0), Pirates (1-2), Dodgers (3-1) and Cards (1-2).
On the road, Colorado had a 14-11 mark: the Giants (1-2), Dodgers (2-1), M’s (2-1), Snakes (2-1), Redbirds (1-3), Brewers (1-2), Astros (1-1) and Braves (4-0). Their record in the first half was 8-1 at home and 5-4 away from Coors Field.
Lastly, Los Angeles (NL) went 23-12 from May 18 to July 4. At Chavez Ravine, they went 14-9 against the Rox twice (3-3), Phillies (2-2), Braves (2-1), Giants (2-1), Cubbies (2-2) and Bucs (3-0). Their away record was 9-3: the Nationals (3-0), Rockies (3-0), Buccos (2-1) and Cubs (1-2).
During their 39-game stint before the mid-July vacation, the red pinstripes at the Bank went 2-1 against Colorado before the break and 2-1 versus Los Angeles after July 20. Their road mark was 2-2 against the Dodgers before mid-July and 1-2 in Phoenix during the second half.