Steaming toward a bye in the wild-card round of the playoffs, the Phillies’ likeliest first October opponent is the next on their schedule: the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Phils begin the week firmly occupying the National League’s No. 2 seed, 4.5-games ahead of the Dodgers, a lead that will be difficult to relinquish and highly improbable unless they’re swept.
The top seed is also still a possibility but the Phillies trail the Brewers by two games (three because of the tiebreaker) with 12 to play.
So … what to make of the team the Phillies face next, which could very well be the same one coming into Citizens Bank Park for Game 1 of the NLDS on October 4?