Phillies news and rumors 9/15: Who wants the National League Wild Card spots?

The Chicago Cubs, like the Phillies, have struggled of late. (Photo by Brandon Sloter/Icon Sportswire)

You’d have thought a 2-5 stretch in the middle of a competitive September Wild Card chase, or a 5-9 stretch dating back to the last game of August, would have cost the Phillies more.

The Phillies began that 5-9 stretch 5 1/2 games up on a playoff spot. They began the 2-5 skid with the same advantage. In a normal postseason chase — especially one with this many teams involved — that lead might have fallen quite a bit. Would they only be up three games now? Two?

They’ll enter Friday night’s series opener in St. Louis still four games clear of a postseason spot, now with just 16 games to go. And the ground they’ve lost on the Chicago Cubs for the top spot in each team’s last seven games — a span in which the Phillies, again, went 2-5 — is zero.

It’s not just the two top dogs in the NL Wild Card race who have sputtered of late. The Cincinnati Reds, one of three teams effectively tied for the last playoff spot, are 3-4 in their last seven, including a series loss to the dreadful Cardinals. The San Francisco Giants have won five of six, but that only came after a six-game losing streak to start September. The Arizona Diamondbacks — tied with the Reds and Giants for that sixth seed in the NL — have lost four of five, including a four-game series loss to the Mets.

Half a game behind them all is the Miami Marlins, who have lost three of four. They ended August by starting a six-game winning streak, but that immediately followed 10 losses in 13 games.

There are two sides to this coin. One says the Phillies have gotten away with some bad baseball and still find themselves in about as good a standing as they did before the recent struggles. The other says they’ve squandered an opportunity to separate, and what could’ve been a comfortable last couple weeks of the season — with not just a Wild Card spot, but home-field advantage in the opening round all but sealed — might turn into a slightly more stressful final stretch.

But that final stretch presents yet another opportunity. The Phillies will head to St. Louis for three against the 16-games-underwater Cardinals, while the Diamondbacks host the Cubs (meaning someone has to lose). After three more against the Atlanta Braves, the Phillies will finish the season off with three against the Pirates and seven against the Mets.

They’ve gotten away with a tough past couple weeks because everyone behind them has lagged. Now, the Phillies can make them pay.

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Some bulletin board material for a potential NLDS.

Former Phillie Nation

Matt Vierling hit his first career grand slam on Thursday, and it marginally helps the Phillies out: It effectively sealed a Tigers win over Cincinnati, one of the three teams tied for that third NL Wild Card spot. Vierling is slashing a decent .268/.333/.385 in Year 1 in Detroit.