Nine is a special number in baseball, but you already knew that. Nine innings, nine positions, ninety feet between each base.
Nine has also been an important number for the Phillies this season. They’ve cycled through nine different starting pitchers in the rotation – Wheeler, Nola, Eflin, Gibson, Suárez, Moore, Anderson, Velasquez, and Howard. They’ve tried nine different options in center field, too – Herrera, Jankowski, Quinn, Williams, Moniak, Haseley, Vierling, Kingery, and Bonifacio.
The Phillies are hoping to avoid a losing record for the first time in nine years, while the Braves’ magic number to clinch the division currently sits at nine.