It’s taken about 93 games, but following their stirring series victory over the stumbling San Diego Padres, the Phillies have themselves a great combination of good vibes and solid positioning in the National League wild card picture.
The odds of catching the 61-31 Braves are exceedingly low, with Atlanta at 98.9% to win the division according to Fangraphs. They’re 30 games over .500 for crying out loud, but they’re also the outliers of the Senior Circuit. The rest of the National League’s seven contenders — the Dodgers, Brewers, Giants, Marlins, Diamondbacks, Phillies and Reds — all have between 50 and 53 wins right now, jumbled in a mass of humanity around the three wild cards, Central and Western division standings.