How MLB's Cancellations Will Impact the Phillies' Season

When Rob Manfred announced the cancellation of the first two series of the regular season, it had ramifications throughout the league, with some teams lucking out and others not fairing so well.

The Philadelphia Phillies fall in with the lucky bunch, as their opening series against the Houston Astros and Washington Nationals were the ones that got cancelled. The Astros hurts the Phillies less than the Nationals' cancellation does due to divisional play.

Traditionally, teams will play each of their divisional opponents a total of 19 times throughout the season, however, this cancellation will see that number drop for the Phillies total games against Washington to 16 games, which may not seem like a lot, but divisional play grants teams to rise and fall within their division more than inter-division or inter-league games do.

As stated earlier, Philadelphia was luckier than some of their NL East counterparts, with the New York Mets, Nationals, and Atlanta Braves having not one, but two divisional series cancelled.

These cancellations may not hurt them at first, however, in the long run, it may come back to bite them when it comes time for playoffs, especially if the race is as close as it was entering the last week and a half of play in 2021.

A key takeaway from Manfred's announcement yesterday regarding the cancellation of games was that they will not be replayed, so these scrapped games are permanent.

The Miami Marlins, similar to the Phillies, come out only having their opening series against the Braves scraped, as well as their interleague bout with the Texas Rangers.

As of now, Philadelphia looks to start their season off at Citizens Bank Park on Friday, April 8, at 3:05 to face off against the Oakland Athletics, which will also serve as their home opener.

More From SI's Inside The Phillies:

Make sure to follow Inside the Phillies on Facebook and Twitter!