MLB 2019 Power Ranking: August 15

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David Peralta , Eduardo Escobar and Dbacks don't celebrate enough

The Philadelphia Phillies find themselves once again at 14th overall in the 2019 MLB Power Rankings as we reach the heart of the dog days of August.

Five clubs will make the playoffs from the National League. Each division champion will be joined by a pair of Wildcard teams. 

In this August 15 version of the Power Rankings, while the Phillies remain right where they were back on August 1 among all teams in Major League Baseball, they have slipped a notch in the National League.

On August 1, the Phillies were the sixth-highest ranked team and were involved in a three-way tie for the two NL Wildcard spots. Now they have slipped a notch, to seventh in the NL. The standings reflect that slippage, as the club is now two games in back of the second Wildcard.

The Phillies have four games left head-to-head with the Nationals, who now control the top NL Wildcard spot, three games ahead of the Phils. Those will take place in Washington at the end of September.

The Cubs are the team in the second Wildcard spot. The Phillies have captured the first two games of a head-to-head series between the two teams, and are 4-2 against Chicago this season.  On Thursday night, the Phillies try to sweep the series and move within a game of the Cubs.

My own personal feelings never have anything to do with the MLB Power Rankings. Instead, the rank is all about actual team performance: results in the standings and statistical breakdowns.

As 2019 countdown reaches eight, Phillies remain in postseason hunt

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Phillies need Bryce Harper to play like a superstar to reach playoffs

Our weekly countdown towards the end of the 2019 Major League Baseball regular season now reaches ‘8’ – just eight more weeks left for the Philadelphia Phillies as they attempt to return to the postseason for the first time in eight years.

The Phillies are coming off another disheartening weekend, one in which the club dropped two of three to the lowly Chicago White Sox, owners of the seventh-worst record in MLB even after winning the series.

Still, the Fightin’ Phils remain tied with the division-rival Washington Nationals for the second National League Wildcard playoff berth at the moment. Those two have just one more loss than the Saint Louis Cardinals, who currently control the top Wildcard spot. Two are available.

Three more teams are right behind the Phillies and Nationals, all in the race still. But the real threat may be coming from a team that was way back just a few weeks ago.

Another NL East rival, the New York Mets, have won 15 of their last 20 games to move within a game of the .500 mark and within three games in the Wildcard race. Having obtained Marcus Stroman at the MLB trade deadline, the Mets may have the best starting pitching among all the teams still in the hunt.

This current winning streak from New York makes them one of three teams from the division to get hot over a lengthy stretch. The Braves won 28 of 38 between June 1 and July 15 to take over the division lead. After a horrendous start, the Nats went 36-15 pver two full months from May 24 to July 24.

As MLB All-Star break arrives, Braves in charge, Nats hot, Phils not in NL East race

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The Braves have taken charge of the NL East at the All-Star break

The Philadelphia Phillies (47-43) have arrived at the MLB All-Star break in third place in the National League East Division standings. They trail the Atlanta Braves by 6.5 games and are a half-game behind the Washington Nationals, but still control the second NL Wildcard playoff berth.

The Phillies captured a weekend series over the New York Mets at Citi Field by winning two of the three games, capped off by a rousing 8-3 victory in Sunday’s series finale. That followed on the heels of a series defeat after they dropped two of three to the first-place Atlanta Braves to open last week.

Now nearly three and a half months into the six-month long MLB regular season, the Phillies appear to be approaching a cross-roads. They led the division for all but seven days up until June 12, then were passed for second place by the Nats just this past week.

While the club has struggled to produce runs on a consistent basis over the traditional first-half of the season, their real problem has been on the mound. Phillies pitchers rank at or near the bottom of most important statistical categories. While the bullpen appears to finally be getting healthy, the starting rotation has become a complete mess.

The ability of general manager Matt Klentak to find a pair of more stable, veteran, productive starting pitchers prior to the trade deadline at the end of this month will likely prove pivotal to any hope of reaching the postseason.

If Klentak is unable to procure those new starters, even a bit of improvement from the offense is unlikely to keep them in contention through the dog days of August and the crucible of a September stretch run.

Saturday night's alright for fighting between NL East rivals

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Phillies try to overcome Thor in Saturday night fight in Queens

The Philadelphia Phillies (46-42) exploded for five runs in the top of the 9th inning to pull away from the host New York Mets (39-49) for a 7-2 victory on Friday night.

With the win, the Phillies once again find themselves in control of an NL Wildcard playoff slot.

The victory was a sixth straight for the Phillies over their division rivals. By winning just two of the remaining eight games between the two teams this season, the Phillies will capture the season series between them for the first time since 2011.

It is possible that those two wins could come with the final two games in this weekend series at Citi Field. The first of those comes with Saturday night’s contest pitting veteran right-hander Jake Arrieta against the Mets golden-maned ‘Thor’, right-hander Noah Syndergaard.

The host Mets have dropped nine of their last 11 contests and have not enjoyed a winning record since sitting at 16-15 all the way back on May 2. Despite their fourth place standing, the Mets generally are a tough opponent. They have lost 22 games by just one or two runs, and have been the victims of a half-dozen walkoff defeats.

Phillies open final series before MLB All-Star break

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Jacob deGrom takes the mound vs the Phillies on Friday night

The Philadelphia Phillies (45-42) pay a visit to Citi Field in Queens to take on the host New York Mets (39-48) on Friday night. This weekend’s three-game set between the two NL East Division rivals will be the final series before Major League Baseball takes a four-day break for next week’s All-Star Game.

Both teams enter this series cold. The Phillies have dropped four of their last six games, losing two of three to both the Marlins and Braves. The Mets have dropped eight of their last 10 games.

These two teams began the season with what appeared to be legitimate division title possibilities. In fact, in late April the Mets were in first place and the Phillies on their tails in second.

A losing 13-15 was followed by a rough 10-18 June month for New York. The Phillies bolted past them, and actually controlled the division lead for all but seven games through late May. However, both teams were not only passed, but are getting left in the dust by the defending division champion Braves. And now the Washington Nationals have also passed them both.

The Mets season appears to already be over. There are just too many teams to climb over to get into playoff position, and they have struggled with too many injuries and too much inconsistency. The losing campaign could yet cost manager Mickey Callaway his job.

For the Phillies, there is a near desperation to win this series and remain in the NL Wildcard playoff hunt. They now sit a half-game off that pace. If they can duplicate what happened just 10 days ago, when the Phillies swept out the Mets in a four-game series at Citizens Bank Park, it would be a major shot in the arm heading into the break.

Slumping Phillies visit struggling Mets prior to MLB All-Star break

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Phillies visit Citi Field just prior to the 2019 All-Star break

It was just 10 days ago that the Philadelphia Phillies (45-42) season was on life support. Seven straight defeats and losses in nine of their previous 10 games had dropped the club to just a game over the .500 mark.

Turned out the temporary cure at that time was arriving at Citizens Bank Park in the form of the New York Mets, a club perhaps struggling even more than the Phillies.

Now here we are, a week and a half later, and the Phillies season appears to once again have relapsed. Since that visit to South Philly by the Mets, the Phillies have dropped two of three games to both the last-place Miami Marlins and first-place Atlanta Braves.

The Phillies are not only looking up at the Braves in the NL East standings, they are also now trailing behind the Washington Nationals by a game in the loss column. This marks the first time all season that the Phillies have fallen below second place in the division. In fact, they have now also slipped out of even an NL Wildcard playoff slot.

Could the Mets once again prove to be just what the Phillies need to feel a bit rejuvenated heading into next week’s four-day MLB All-Star Game break? As this weekend before that Mid-Summer Classic break begins, the Phillies will visit Flushing, Queens for three games at Citi Field.

The Mets slipped to fourth place in the division back on June 19 and have been stuck there ever since. They are coming off a split in their two-game Subway Series match-up with the New York Yankees and had the day off on Independence Day. Losers of eight of their last 10, the Mets have not won three games in a row since mid-May.

NEW YORK METS

TOP LINEUP THREATS

Michael Conforto: 26-year-old right fielder slashing .247/.361/.477 with 16 homers, 32 extra-base hits, 43 RBIs, 47 runs.

Jeff McNeil: 27-year-old left fielder slashing .349/.411/.516 with 7 homers, 31 extra-base hits, 35 RBIs, 38 runs.

Amed Rosario: 23-year-old shortstop with 9 homers, 42 RBIs, 36 runs.

Todd Frazier: 33-year-old third baseman with 11 homers, 34 RBIs, 27 runs over just 236 plate appearances.

Wilson Ramos: 31-year-old catcher slashing .275/.348/.414 with 9 homers and 41 RBIs played with Phillies in late 2018.

June bug Nats beginning to prove major pests in NL East

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Anthony Rendon has led a Nationals charge back into the race

The Philadelphia Phillies begin the month of July in a far different position than they started out the month of June.

When the calendar made the flip from May to June, the Phillies were on top of the National League East Division standings. Their 33-24 record had the club three full games ahead of the Atlanta Braves to that point.

The month of June was not kind to the Phillies, as the club stumbled to an 11-16 mark. Now, the Phillies begin July in second place, staring up at the Braves through a five-game deficit in the loss column.

The Phillies went 5-2 over this past week, though it was a bit of a mixed bag of results. It began with an uplifting four-game sweep of the New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park. But this past weekend saw the Marlins capture two of three in Miami to take some wind out of the Phillies sails.

This week’s upcoming games will lead into a four-day break for the MLB All-Star Game.

As always, my NL East Beat report reveals how each of the Phillies divisional rivals fared over the course of the past week with a presentation of the standings, last week’s results, and the upcoming schedules for each club.

NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST DIVISION STANDINGS

EAST DIVISION

East Division

Team	W	L	W-L%	GB
Atlanta Braves	50	35	.588	--
Philadelphia Phillies	44	40	.524	5.5
Washington Nationals	42	41	.506	7.0
New York Mets	38	47	.447	12.0
Miami Marlins	32	50	.390	16.5

Data courtesy Baseball-Reference.com.

ATLANTA BRAVES (4 – 3)

Summary: Atlanta split a four-game set at Wrigley Field with the NL Central-leading Chicago Cubs, then moved on to Citi Field where they took two of three from the struggling New York Mets.

While the Phillies were stumbling through their losing June, the Braves went 20-8 to put themselves firmly in control. Now this young and talented ball club will to capture a second straight NL East crown.

Jay Bruce comes through again, Phillies walkoff Mets in 10 innings

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Jay Bruce about to get doused after his Wednesday walkoff

The Philadelphia Phillies (42-38) completed their first walkoff victory of the season, downing the New York Mets (37-44) by a 5-4 final score on Wednesday night at Citizens Bank Park in South Philadelphia. With the win, the Phillies remain tied for an NL Wildcard playoff spot.

For a third consecutive night the Phillies fell behind early. And for a third straight game the offense rallied to bring home a victory. For a club that had languished in a disheartening three-week slump, you can almost feel the energy turning around them, building with each bamboo-inspired victory.

After Phillies starter Nick Pivetta and Mets starting pitcher Jason Vargas battled through the first three innings scoreless, the visitors jumped on the board first courtesy of the longball. Dominic Smith drove his 7th homer of the season out on a line to left to put New York on top 1-0 with one out in the top of the 4th inning.

In the top of the 5th it was new Phillies-killer Jeff McNeil blasting his 6th home run of the year over the center field wall to make it 2-0.

The Mets scored twice more in the very next inning to double their lead. Smith led off by drawing a walk. He then stole second base, and when J.T. Realmuto threw the ball away, Smith went to third. Amed Rosario then walked, and then Tomas Nido singled to bring Smith home, making it 3-0. With two outs, McNeil did it again, ripping a double to right field that scored Rosario to make it 4-0 for the visitors.

In the bottom of the 6th inning, Jean Segura finally got the Phillies on the board with his 9th homer to left-center field. Then the Phillies got even by putting up a crooked number, scoring three times in the home 7th to tie it up.

Phillies blast four homers for second straight night to rally past Mets

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Maikel Franco homers for the second consecutive game

The Philadelphia Phillies (41-38) defeated the visiting New York Mets (37-43) by a 7-5 score on Tuesday night at Citizens Bank Park.

It was a second consecutive offensive explosion that carried the Phillies, with the club powering at least four home runs on successive nights for the first time in over a decade.

This time it was no blowout. The Phillies fell behind early. But rather than tuck their tails between their legs and accept defeat, as seemed to happen too often during their recent losing spell, the team showed renewed heart in fighting all the way back.

It was not at all a good night for Phillies starting pitcher Jake Arrieta. He never got it together while surrendering four earned runs over the first three frames to put the team into an early 4-1 hole.

The Mets started the game with three consecutive singles which led to their scratching out two runs in the top of the 1st inning. Solo home runs by Amed Rosario in the top of the 2nd and Dominic Smith in the top of the 3rd off-set a solo homer by Scott Kingery to leadoff the home 1st inning.

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A solo home run off the bat of Rhys Hoskins, his 18th of the season, pulled the Phillies within 4-2 in the bottom of the 4th inning. In the top of the 6th, Jeff McNeil‘s RBI single countered that to push the Mets lead to 5-2.

Mets are a mess under manager Mickey Callaway as they open series with Phillies

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Mets skipper Mickey Callaway is under serious fire in New York

The Philadelphia Phillies (39-38) and New York Mets (37-41) both entered the 2019 season with high hopes. Each team was considered by most evaluators to be a genuine contender for a division crown and a postseason berth. Neither has seen their season play out as they would have hoped to this point.

The Phillies situation is well known by now to the frustrated and nearly mutinous fan base. The Phillies were 33-22 and riding high in first place in the division on May 29. They have gone just 6-16 since that time, and just three and a half weeks later are on a seven-game losing streak and have fallen out of even an NL Wildcard spot.

For the Mets, injuries and inconsistencies, their usual two bugaboos, have ganged up to derail what was their own promising start to the 2019 season. On April 24, nearly a month into the season, they were in first place following a 9-0 white-washing of the Phillies. But they went 13-15 in May, and are now 9-12 in June to this point.

The Mets have now lost star pitcher Noah Syndergaard to the IL for at least a couple of weeks. With Jacob deGrom not scheduled to pitch in this series, the Phillies hitters should feel fortunate to be missing their two best starters. However, as inconsistent as they have been performing of late, anyone appears capable of shutting down the Phillies bats.

Following this series, the Phillies will head out on the road for nine games within the division, three each in Miami, Atlanta, and New York. To say they are desperate at this point would be an understatement. The Phillies really need to win this series with the Mets in order to head out on the road feeling better about themselves and their chances of turning things around.

Mets beginning to wilt as summer approaches in the Big Apple

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2019 has not been kind to Mr. Met and his favorite ball club

Over the first ten weeks of the 2019 Major League Baseball season the Philadelphia Phillies spent all but seven days sitting at the top of the standings.

However, numerous key injuries and inconsistent play have caught up to the team. The Atlanta Braves have gotten hot and passed the Phillies for first place in the standings.

Now the Washington Nationals appear to have regained some equilibrium after a horrendous start, and have begun fighting their way back up the standings.

The Phillies lost two of three games to both the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Braves this past week. Now they will visit the Nationals for a big four-game set to open this current week down in our nation’s capital.

As always, my NL East Beat report reveals how each of those Phillies divisional rivals fared over the course of the past week: games scores, pivotal performers, key injuries, and other important updates on each team are included.

NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST DIVISION STANDINGS

EAST DIVISION

East Division

Team	W	L	W-L%	GB
Atlanta Braves	43	30	.589	--
Philadelphia Phillies	39	32	.549	3.0
New York Mets	34	38	.472	8.5
Washington Nationals	33	38	.465	9.0
Miami Marlins	25	45	.357	16.5

Data courtesy Baseball-Reference.com.

ATLANTA BRAVES (6 – 1)

Summary: The Braves were below the .500 mark at 18-20 in early May. But Atlanta has come alive over the last six weeks, surging to the top of the division standings by winning 24 of 34 since.

Phillies now face a key month with nothing but the NL East on the schedule

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It will be the Phillies vs the NL East for the next month

The Philadelphia Phillies (38-30) dropped the finale of a six-game homestand to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday night. That loss was their third in the last four games. They are just 5-8 since reaching a season-best 11 games over the .500 mark following a victory back on May 29.

Meanwhile, the defending National League East Division champion Atlanta Braves have gotten white hot. The Braves defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates by a 6-5 score on Thursday afternoon in Atlanta for their seventh consecutive victory, their ninth win over their last 11 games.

As a result of this recent turn of events for the two teams, the Phillies have fallen out of first place for the first time since April 25. They are now 1.5 games behind the Braves, a game back in the loss column.

The Phillies still control a National League Wildcard playoff slot, but are just 2.5 games up on both the Dbacks and the Colorado Rockies for that postseason berth, just two in the loss column on Colorado.

NFL head coach Jim Mora, then with the Indianapolis Colts, famously responded back in November 2001 to a reporter asking him about his team contending for a playoff berth: “Playoffs? Don’t talk about – playoffs? You kidding me? Playoffs?”

It is waaaaay too early to be worrying about playoffs for the Phillies. Before fans, and more importantly the team’s management, can think about the postseason, they have to worry about winning ball games on a more consistent basis.