The Good Phight

As October draws near for teams in playoff contention, they are starting to use this time to put their bullpen in a pecking order. They have had a season’s worth of data and observation to determine which of the players in the bullpen are worthy of logging those high stress innings that come with pitching in the postseason.

Playoffs have begun for at least one farm team. How did the kids do? Lehigh Valley 5, Worcester 4 Otto Kemp. Jack of all trades, master of none. It was pretty funny that the Phillies thought they could make something out of Kemp when they haven’t properly developed a hitting prospect in years. Thinking that Kemp was more than deserving of the dreaded “Quad-A player” label was a miscalculation on their part, but at least now he’s where he belongs.

Last night was frustrating, and a bit more so than a one-run loss typically is. In part, that’s because the Phillies found their seventh inning comeback attempt cut short thanks to an atypical double play, in which J.T. Realmuto lined a ball straight to Jeremy Peña at shortstop, who then tossed the ball back to second to complete the twin killing. And in part, it’s because they found their ninth inning comeback attempt cut short thanks to some questionable baserunning from Edmundo Sosa.

Is it ok to talk about the playoffs? I think it’s ok to talk about the playoffs. Choose from any of the major people that make projections and you’ll find that most, if not all, have the Phillies at something close to 99% positive that they will make the playoffs. That’s pretty rare with this many games to go for a nondivision leading team, but here we are. So, we can start to look forward a little bit.

The Phillies were unable to gain any ground in the division standings over the long weekend, which is unideal considering how quickly we’re approaching the end of the season. But even with another division title looking like a longshot, the Phillies need to get as many wins as they can in the coming weeks to bolster their playoff positioning. This week sees another first place team come to Citizens Bank Park.

If you invoke the name of Luis Arraez in a discussion with anyone who has even a passing knowledge of baseball, the word “contact” will likely be one of the first few words said. There’s an obvious reason for that, as Arraez’ ability to put the bat on the ball is his trademark calling card, and he is arguably the best playing today at doing it. Since entering the league in 2019, Arraez’ 93.6% contact rate is the best in all of baseball, just narrowly edging out Steven Kwan of the Guardians (92%).

The first four games of this pivotal stretch for the Phillies against the Atlanta Braves are over. It didn’t go quite the way Philadelphia could’ve hoped, as they were only able to split the series. They are now still four games behind the Braves with three games in Atlanta coming next weekend and 18 games remaining overall. As the even result may hint towards, it was a competitive series throughout.

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - SEPTEMBER 6: Luis Arraez #4 of the Philadelphia Phillies reacts against the Atlanta Braves at Citizens Bank Park on September 6, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Braves defeated the Phillies 5-4. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) Getty Images The Braves have already taken two games in Philadelphia and currently hold a five game lead with 19 games left to play.

Luzardo’s better than last year. But it’s a bit more complicated than that. Some systems are simple and obvious. Put a piece of paper into a shredder and confetti comes out. Put a dirty car through a car wash and it comes out clean . Put a little tray of cake batter into an Easy-Bake Oven and a little cake comes out (or at least, I assume it does. I never had one, even though I always kinda wanted one). Pitchers, however, are not a a simple and obvious system.

Aug 19, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola (27) throws a pitch against the Miami Marlins during the first inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect There is a bit of an embarrassment of riches going on in the Phillies’ starting rotation. They have four pitchers that are throwing the ball very well and a fourth is Zack Wheeler. He’s going to start a playoff game for the Phillies.