Embed from Getty Imageswindow.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:’UomQ3m26TV9l25tswcErdg’,sig:’g5c0xKWGaiNfYHgtFTASv1UuIm5aKiybRpsG53OmDBA=’,w:’594px’,h:’390px’,items:’962824430′,caption: true ,tld:’com’,is360: false })});
A huddle for first place, the Phils have finally won a game that takes them into first place
To hear the words, Phillies and first place in the same sentence is something that the fans of this team have been thinking about for many years now. The World Series win was an incredible 10 years ago (that went by really fast to this writer).
Well, like the ebb and flow of the tide, the winning can return to a baseball team over time, if the right ingredients are there on the team. It takes some winning pitching, and the Phillies have been experiencing this in the past few weeks. Aaron Nola is 6-2 on the season and the addition of Jake Arrieta, was another great add to this starting roster. We’ve seen Vince Velasquez have a few good starts in a row as well. Add this all up with some timely hitting and we’re in first place!
It’s not a dominating type of first place though, it’s been at times a very tentative arrival in the top spot as the Phillies have had some bumps in the road with relief pitching over the past 10 days. The important thing though is they are finding ways to win. Again, it’s not a dominating type of winning like this team is going on the diamond and beating up on teams.
Some timely hitting off of the bench by Nick Williams and a steady effort from both Odubel and Maikel have really transformed this Phillies offense for the moment.
Can this Phillies team hold on to first place and stay there? We’ll see, the Atlanta Braves have been playing really well and have two top hitters in Freddie Freeman and Nick Markakis. If the Braves are going to make a run at this division, they will have to pitch better. It will be fun to see how this race shapes up, the Mets have been playing some poor baseball but they are still only 3.5 GB off the pace.