The Phillies defeated their inter-state rival Pittsburgh Pirates by a 6-2 score on Wednesday night in South Philly, demonstrating that the gap between the two Pennsylvania teams is narrowing.
Last year the Phillies were the worst team in baseball, while the cross-state rival Pirates advanced to the playoffs for a third consecutive year.
Prior to that, it was the Phils as clearly the best team in the Commonwealth, as they won five consecutive NL East crowns and a World Series title.
The two teams were never competitive at the same time over the last decade, and have not been playing in the same division since the 1993 season, so their all-time rivalry has diminished some.