Phillies Lose 9 of 12; Brewers Now 0.5 GB of Final NL Wild Card Spot
The Philadelphia Phillies dropped their ninth game of their last 12 Wednesday night, falling 4-2 to the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. It was their fourth straight loss.
Entering play Thursday, September 15, the Phillies were 2.5 games up on the San Diego Padres, in the National League's second Wild Card spot. The Padres, at the time, were up two games on the Milwaukee Brewers for the third and final National League Wild Card spot.
Since September 15, the Phillies lead has all but evaporated. The club has gone 3-9 over its last 12 games, stumbling down the stretch of the regular season. The Phillies (83-71) now trail the Padres (86-68) by three games and only lead the Brewers (83-72) by a half-game, as they cling to the third and final NL Wild Card spot.
Since September 15, the Padres have heated up, winning eight of their last eleven, peaking at the right time, as the Phillies have trended in the opposite direction at the wrong time.
The Brewers haven't exactly run the table, but their 7-5 record in that time has been enough to pick up ground on the Phillies.
The Brewers picked up a much-needed game in the NL Wild Card race thanks to the Phillies' pair of losses to the Cubs Tuesday and Wednesday. Meanwhile, the Brewers defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 5-1 Wednesday night at home.
The Phillies are the National League team with the longest playoff drought. They have not made the postseason since 2011, the last year of their five-year run where they won five straight National League East division titles.
The Phillies will play the Cubs once more at Wrigley Thursday afternoon, before opening a four-game series with the Nationals in Washington D.C. Friday, and then wrapping up their season with a three-game series in Houston next week.
